Whispers on the Wind
by Trafalgar Neo
Summary: She is nothing but a doll. Soft, fragile, and very breakable to her family. All she wanted was freedom. Mostly she wanted to be free from the prison that should have been a home. She gets her wish in the most unexpected way: being kidnapped. And the result of this is the ultimate freedom anyone could possibly obtain.
1. An Adventure Begins P1

An Adventure Begins

Part One

The sky was blue and spotted with fluffy white clouds that lazily floated along. The sun was bright and warm. The wind blew gently across the calm sea. It was nothing more than an ordinary day. Or so it would seem to all of the citizens of Pax Island. They all were busy bustling about the town. Some where performing their jobs, some mothers were home with their children, and some were talking about Eri Azure's eighteenth birthday party that was happening later tonight.

"I heard Mrs. Azure is having a live orchestra for Miss Azure's party tonight," a man said. He guzzled back some of his beer then added, "Mr. Azure had them shipped in from an island about three days from here. They arrived yesterday."

"That would be nice," a second man said. "Miss Azure surely does love her music."

"It's nice for those of us who can walk," a third man said, slamming his mug down on the table. He waved his hand to the black haired waitress, demanding his mug be refilled. The waitress nodded in understanding. She picked up a pitch and rushed over to him. After refilling his mug, she hurried away.

"Don't say things like that. Miss Azure is a very nice young woman," the first man said.

"Of course she is," the third man said. "But it really is a shame that she can't walk anymore. I know she would have made such a wonderful dancer. Her mother was a professional dance once before. So was her grandmother. She used to dance as a child, you know? She would have become a dancer herself. It's in her blood."

"Yeah, dancing," the second guy said. He gave his friend a cheeky grin. "That's really what you have in mind when you think of her."

"It is at the moment," the third man chuckled. He brought his mug to his lips. Chugging down a large gulp before exhaling. "That's good stuff. But she is very attractive."

"Then date her," the first one said.

"What? No way. I don't want to be saddled with a cripple," the third man said.

"Right. You just want to take her purity away from her and leave what's left behind for her family to pick up," the second one said.

"You two are sick," the first one said with a frown. He picked up his beer mug and walked away from the table.

"It's not like you want to date her either! Everyone on the island knows she's going to die all alone with only her family and bodyguards around her!" the third man yelled out over the rest of the chatter in the tavern. Some of the other customers stopped drinking to look over at the men. More chatter spread out in the room about Eri Azure's disability and how it was such a shame that she was in a wheelchair, but no one actually came to her defense about anything. They just felt sorry for her and wanted to talk about her.

Yes, just another ordinary day on Pax Island.

But for four strangers that were sitting in the corner of that very tavern, today was anything but normal. Today was going to be a big event for them. Even bigger than Eri Azure's eighteenth birthday party that everyone on the island seemed to be talking about.

"I'm telling you this isn't a good idea," one of them said. He carefully scanned his black eyes over everyone in the tavern. They all were too busy talking about Eri Azure's party and her disability to even notice that they were new to the town and island. That worked in their favor so they didn't mind.

"Chill out, Pratt," another one said. "There's nothing to this at all. Haven't you been listening to the talk around this town? She's in a wheelchair. She can't fight back."

"I know, I know," Pratt said. He ran his hands through his dark blonde hair. "I'm just nervous that's all, Jaq. They have like a hundred bodyguards that guard that place. I've even heard that the Emperor Red Haired Shanks personally picked a few to be her personal bodyguards."

"Dude, that's just rumors," a third one said.

"Mitch is right," Jaq said. "Those are just rumors."

"But we're in Red Haired Shanks' territory," Pratt said. He looked around again to see if anyone was listening to them. No one was. He relaxed a little bit, but still kept looking around and picking at his mug with nervous ticks. "And he's been known to stop here on several occasions. I think he has a personal relationship with the Azure family."

"It doesn't matter if he does or if he doesn't," Mitch said. "He's not here right now. And even if he does hear about this there won't be anything he can do about finding her. We all have it set up. We kidnap the girl and take her to our hideout."

"I still don't like it," Pratt said.

"Man, when did you turn into such a coward?" Jaq asked. He slipped his arm over the back of his chair and gave his friend a taunting smirk.

"I'm not a coward!" Pratt hissed in a low tone so he wouldn't draw attention to them.

"Sure you're not," Mitch said, adding to Jaq's taunting. " _I'm telling you this isn't a good idea. Red Haired is a friend of the family. Red Haired personally picked out her bodyguards. We're in Red Haired's territory._ Blah, blah, blah."

"Look, this is going to be an easy job," Jaq said. "We're not even going to have to fight her bodyguards. They'll easily be knocked out with the gas we acquired. I'm telling you this is going to be an easy job. We take her, force her to lead us to our goal, and then we kill her, and live it up on all the riches while living like kings. We're so going to rule this world. Literally!"

Pratt frowned at them before looking down at his distorted reflection in his beer.

"Pratt, there really isn't anything to worry about," Mitch said. He placed his hand on Pratt's shoulder. "We've been partners for years. And no one has stopped us yet. After we pull this job off we're literally going to rule the world."

"I still don't know about this," Pratt said. "It just doesn't feel right."

"Geez, man! You real are a coward!" Jaq said. He threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Shut up, Jaq," Pratt said in a warning tone. "I'm not a coward."

"You are too," Jaq spat back. "If not, then prove it. Fight me right now."

"I'm not going to fight you," Pratt said.

"Of course you're not," Jaq said with a smirk. "And that's because you're nothing but a yellow belly co-"

"Enough," the fourth man said. The three men turned and looked at him. He lifted his head up. Peering out from underneath his hat, he glared at them with his one good eye. "I will hear no more arguing on this. We're pulling this job off tonight just like we've planned."

"Yes, boss," the three men chorused.

"Are you sure she's the one?" Pratt asked.

"Yes," the boss man replied. He pulled out a little black book from his breast pocket and opened it. He smiled down at the content inside, careful not to let anyone else see it. He closed the book and shoved it back into his pocket. "It still points to her. I checked it out when we arrived here earlier today."

"You checked it out?" Mitch asked in disbelief. He placed his hands on the table and leaned closer to his boss. "Like, you went to her house?"  
"I had to be sure," the boss said. He crossed his arms and legs while peering right at Pratt. "I don't want any mistakes to happen while we're pulling this job off. Are you going to be all right now?"

"Yes, sir," Pratt said with a nod. "I'm only nervous. We've never done a job like this before. And it has such a huge pay off if the island is actually real."

"The island is real," the boss said. "I assure you of it. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have been lead right to the girl."

"That's right," Jaq said. He lifted his mug to their boss in a salute. "Our boss knows what he's doing."

"Right on!" Mitch lifted his own mug. "Here's to our leader! He never steers us wrong!"

"Relax now, Pratt," Jaq said.

"Just be thankful we're going after this girl instead of Red Haired Shanks' goddaughter," Mitch said.

"If we were going after his goddaughter, I'd just kill myself to save him and her husband the trouble," Pratt said. A shiver ran down his spine. "I don't want to be anywhere near her or her crew."

"Oh, come on. The Heart Pirates aren't that bad," Mitch said. "Their captain and the Straw Hats just got lucky in taking down Doflamingo. Besides they and the Straw Hats are far away from here. It would take them days to come here. Not that they would. They have no connection to Eri Azure at all."

"I'm glad for that," Pratt said. "It's already bad enough she has a connection to the Emperor."

"Let's not start that again," Jaq said with a sigh. He then waved his hand to one of the dancer girls. "You're going to relax right now."

"What can I do you for, honey?" the girl asked. She brushed her long black hair over her bare shoulder before sitting down on his lap. She crossed her long legs, revealing her scandalous tights to him through a slit in her black and red dress.

Jaq ran his hand down her leg while he eyed her plentiful cleavage that stuck halfway out of her dress. He said, "Sorry, dear, but it's not for me. My friend here needs to relax. Could you help him out?"

"Oh, well, sure thing," she said. Disappointment shone in her eyes for a split second before she hopped off his lap. She walked around him to get to Pratt. She cupped her cheek over the young man's face then took his hand. "Come on. Let's go somewhere a little more private."

"But I don't-" Pratt started. He got cut off when the woman jerked him out of his chair.

"Woohoo! Go Pratt!" Mitch cheered.

"Relax!" Jaq added.

"You two are going to pay for this!" Pratt called back to him before the woman pulled him through a door at the back of the tavern.

The boss just smiled. He let his hat drop back over his eyes before looking out the window. There in the distance was the large five story mansion. The mansion that held their current target. All they had to do was wait. With the intelligence he gathered from all the talk about the town, he knew the party started at five o'clock tonight and ended at nine o'clock. And it was currently two thirty in the afternoon. In about seven hours his life long dream would be on the right track for coming true. He would have the girl. And he would be on his way to finally finding the island, the island that literally would change the world. Nothing was ever going to be the same again after tonight.

…

Eri sat quietly by the window in the study of their large home, or mansion as many called it. Personally, she called it her prison. She wasn't literally a _prisoner_ behind these pale walls. She could still go outside and into the town. But she felt like she might as well have been a prisoner here. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere without her bodyguards, or her escorts as her family calls them. She knew that was just a nicer way of saying bodyguards. They were just bodyguards dressed in nothing but black. Black jackets, black ties, black shoes, black sunglasses, the only things that weren't black where their shirts and socks and, for some, their skin and hair. If it wasn't for their different skin and hair color she would have thought her family just cloned someone. They all looked the same to her anymore. Their outfits that hide their bulky muscles, their stiff always polite to her attitudes, she was actually surprised that they weren't clones. They might as well have been with the way they always moved in unison when marching or walking along side her. They were just very drab. She got so sick of seeing the color black all the time.

She glanced over at the door to the study. Two of her bodyguards were standing on each side of the door, guarding it like always, while two other guards of the mansion marched passed the window on the outside. When she heard their footsteps, she turned back to the window. The two guards stopped when she looked at them. They dipped their heads to her in a greeting and said in unison, "Good morning, Lady Eri."

"How are you feeling today?" one of them asked.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Eri replied back. "I'm feeling just fine. Thank you."

"That is very good to hear," he said.

 _Sure it is. I'm always fine, but none of you notice. I'm just in a wheelchair. I'm not a sick little girl who needs to be pampered,_ Eri thought. She forced a smile onto her lips and said, "How are you two this morning? Is everything well at your homes?"

Their homes, not a prison, no bodyguards that followed them around, just home where their families were. A home where they had fun and small everyday adventures. Something she didn't have.

"Everything is fine, Lady Eri," the first one said.

"Everything is fine at my house as well, Lady Eri," the second one said. "My wife is sending over those cookies you love so much. She's also sending a birthday present. I'm afraid she won't be able to attend your party tonight. One of our children is sick."

"That is very sweet of her to send the cookies," Eri said. _I really hate those health cookies. They taste like grass._ "And a gift is not necessary. And I am sorry to hear about your child. I wish they get well soon."

"Thank you, Lady Eri. I will pass on your wishes. Of course it's necessary," the second one said with polite smile. "You only turned eighteen once. And you only get presented to society once in your life as well. There's no way anyone would miss such an occasion. You must celebrate with a smile."

"Indeed. You are correct, sir," Eri said with a forced smile. _I hate my birthday parties. And I hate those silly coming out parties. Everyone already knows who I am here on this island. Besides, I know people are only coming here out of politeness. I know what they say about me when they think I'm not listening or I'm not there. I don't have any real friends. Well, I've only one. And he's currently sailing the seas. I'll most likely never actually get to meet him._

"Well, we must be on our way," the second guard said.

Eri eyed him closely. She didn't know him. Not really anyway. She didn't really know any of the guards that roamed her parents' estate. They weren't allowed to actually have a decent conversation with her. They were only allowed basic small talk before moving on with their duties. Not even her own personal bodyguards were allowed to have a serious conversation with her. They just stood there like statues. Statues that had reflexes like cats. And she knew this because if anyone entered into a room where she was without being announced first, they would instantly pounce on them. This happened before with one of her brother's friends. He forgot to announce himself before entering into the study. He got one of her bodyguard's arms in his neck like a clothesline, several bruises, and a couple cracked ribs before her brother came running into the room to stop them. She tired to stop them, of course, but she was their _fragile_ _little charge_. When they think she's in danger, their power, that her parents gave them, override her own control over them.

And her bodyguards were never the same four guys in a row. They were always swapped out for new bodyguards everyday. She had a total of ten personal bodyguards. When they weren't guarding her, they were training. When they weren't training, they were guarding her. It became tiring to always have someone following her around. Not that she really had anywhere to go. Their island wasn't the biggest island in the world but it wasn't the smallest either. It was somewhere in the middle. Everyone knew everyone else. And everyone knew her family. Their house was the largest on the island and could be seen from almost any point on the island.

With her hands placed in her lap and a soft sigh on her lips, she turned her eyes back out the window and started to lightly sway her head to the soft music emanating from the phonograph on the table beside her. It was a classical piece performed by the late, Ramsey Rothschild, a man born and raised in the North Blue. Anymore she has come to think of music and the musicians who preformed them as friends. She often wondered who these men and women really were. Books could only tell you so much about a person and could easily be altered. She wondered if what she read about them was true. Or if they were lies told by the musician themselves or by whoever wrote the book about them. That's when her adventurous mind would take over. She would start imaging these musicians having crazy adventures while writing or preforming their songs. And she's come up with some rather silly situations to put them in. Once she imagined a group of classical preforms battling it out with swords like pirates only they were using instruments as their swords instead of actual swords.

With another soft sigh, she stared out blankly at the ocean through the double window. Their home was on top of a hill so she got a perfect view of the ocean no matter what room she was in, even on the bottom floor where she currently was. One thing she was grateful for about this mansion was it had an elevator in it. She didn't have to remain on the ground floor. It ran on both electricity and by a hand held contraption that she's never seen only been told about several times by the maids or butlers who wanted to, unnecessarily, assure her that she was safe to go to the upper floors. She would always mentally roll her eyes at them despite saying something along the lines of, _"Well, that is a comfort to know. I'm glad I'm in such capable hands then."_

She wasn't afraid of getting stuck on any of the upper floors or even on the bottom floor. She had enough bodyguards that would _come to her rescue._ What she was afraid of was always being a prisoner here, always being followed around by bodyguards, and always being treated like a fragile glass doll. She wanted to be out having adventures like Luffy. Sailing the seas, going to new island after new island, getting to meet all sorts of people and animals, getting to try new foods, and even getting into fights. Not that she could ever fight anyone.

Prisoner. Bodyguards. Glass doll.

She sighed once more at the thought of the young man and at the salt filled breeze that always flowed up from the water to their windows. The wind teased the shorter threads of her blonde hair that came loose from her braided that trailed down her back to her hips. She really loved the wind. She love how the wind always smelled like salt. It reminded her of Luffy's letters. And his letters filled her mind of adventures on the high seas. He wrote to her about all of his adventures. Since they were little kids, he's been telling her about every single adventure he's had. It made her crave for adventure more. Adventures she would never have.

Prisoner. Bodyguards. Glass doll.

Still, she couldn't stop her mind from inserting herself on Luffy's adventures. She often wondered what her part in his crew would be if he asked her to join them. She didn't really have any kind of talents. The only thing she could do was play thirty five instruments and write silly little stories that were inspired by the Straw Hat captain. His crew already had a musician. Brook, she recalled. A real living skeleton thanks to the Devil Fruit he ate a long time ago. She knew all about him. She knew all about Luffy's crew from his letters. She even knew quite a lot about their current allies, the Heart Pirates. And the Heart Pirates seemed just as exciting as the Straw Hats. Once more she wished she could join them. But she knew she never would be able to.

Prisoner. Bodyguards. Glass doll.

She would just have to be content with Luffy's letters and letting her imagination carry her away. And thinking about his letters…she looked over to the coral desk that the phonograph was sitting on. It's been a while since she's received a letter from him. She tried not to let it bother her. She knew he was busy right now, especially after they took down the Warlord, Doflamingo. She figured it would be a couple more weeks before everything from that settled down. He would surely write her then. He never went for every long before sending her a letter. He was always excited to tell her of his adventures. Or she assumed he was excited about it. That's how she read his letters. She really didn't know him except for what he let her know through them. And judging from the wanted poster and newspaper clippings she had of him in her room, he really was just as adventurous as his letters implied. She so badly wanted to send him a letter. A letter that would ask him to come and free her from her prison. But she never did. She always lacked courage when it came to telling people how she really felt. No one ever listened when she did tell them how miserable she was. They would always just brush her off and tell her how lucky she was to live in such a mansion and have such a good family who took such great care of her. So she gave up trying. The people here never really saw her anyway. If they did, they would know how miserable she was.

"Announcing, Young Master Azure," a butler's voice said.

Eri sighed. Even the maids and butlers wore black, traditional outfits. Very dull and boring. She turned her eyes away from the window just as her brother walked into the study. She put a smile on her lips when he smiled at her. His eyes were sparkling at her, just like they always do when he was going to dote on her. His blue eyes that were the same light shade as her own. His hair was also light blonde like hers. Those were two traits that seemed to run wild in their family. The majority of them had the same exact hair and eye color. If someone in her family didn't have blonde hair and blue eyes they often got teased about not belonging in the family. "Good afternoon, brother. How was your riding lesson today, Skylar?"

"Same as always," Skylar said. He sat down on the couch with a sigh. "Be lucky you don't have to go on such boring lessons. I wish they'd just let me run loose on that horse. Riding along at a slow pace is always such a drag."

 _At least you get to go riding. I'm not allowed to. It's too_ _dangerous_ _for a fragile flower like me,_ Eri thought. Her smile faded as she let her eyes wonder over her brother. She couldn't help but noticed his hair and clothes were slightly in a mess and there was a touch of pink lipstick on the white collar of his riding suit. He clearly had company on his riding lesson today. And they clearly did more than just ride around the grounds. She wondered which of his many admirers he had with him. She really couldn't blame him. She always heard about how good looking her brother was from several people. She knew he was good looking. With all the girls she's seen flutter their eyelashes at him, looking _extra cute_ when they knew he was going to be around, and flipping their hair in the flirty way that they do, it was hard for her not to notice. So far she hasn't liked a single girl that he's showed interest in. She knew he wasn't serious about any of them. He probably never would be serious about a woman. She wasn't really sure though. He could change in a few years. Right now, he was only twenty six years old. He was still young. He had also filled more out from his lanky teenage years. He's put on some muscle. And he was tall, just under six foot. Yes, he was good looking.

"So are you ready for your party, Dreamer?" Skylar asked. He put his arms over the back of the couch and crossed his legs. A poor posture that he wouldn't be doing if their parents were in the room.

"I guess so," Eri said. A small smile reappeared on her lips from the nickname he used on her. Dreamer really suited her. Of course a lot of the time he called her that he was only teasing. He knew of her dreams of adventure, but also thought she was crazy for having them.

"You guess so?" Skylar asked with a small laugh. "Are you kidding? You're finally turning eighteen. You're being officially shown to society. You'll get to join mother on her many banquets and events. You've always wanted to be a part of them."

"Indeed. It really is an exciting day," Eri said with forced enthusiasm. _I've never wanted to be apart of those boring events. I hate the dresses they always wear. The way you have to sit perfectly, drink perfectly, eat perfectly…it's painfully boring to just watch them._ "Do you believe it is possible for the Emperor to arrive today?"

"Probably not," Skylar said. "You know he's very busy. Some of those rookie crews are after him."

"Yes, I have read the newspapers about that as well," Eri said. "I do hope he takes care."

"It doesn't really matter," Skylar said. "It's only a matter of time before he gets knocked off his throne."

"That is not a very nice thing to say," Eri said with a frown.

"Don't give me that look, little sister," Skylar said. "You know it's true. No one stays on top forever. Just take your pirate, Straw Hat, for an example."

"You better not say one ill word against him," Eri said in a warning tone.

"He's just all hype. He's only gotten lucky," Skylar said, ignoring Eri's warning. "He'll get knocked down one of these days. He couldn't save his brother after all."

"You take that back!" Eri snapped. Tears pressed to the back of her eyes. She would not stand for anyone talking about Luffy in such a way. "Luffy's strong! It's sad that he couldn't save his brother! He was up against so many strong opponents! He's lucky he had so many friends that helped him get away from there!"

"Hey, hey. Take it easy, Eri," Skylar said. He jumped up from the couch and rushed over to her. He grabbed her shoulders. "You know you're not suppose to get upset like this."

"Stop treating me like I'm a breakable doll!" Eri said. She pushed his hands off her shoulders, but he put them right back. "Let go of me!"

"Calm down," Skylar said. He ran his worried eyes over her face. "Do I need to get the doctor? He can give you a sedative."

Eri flinched at his words. She forced herself to calm down. One thing she didn't want was a sedative. It was such a waste of good medicine that could have been used on someone who really needed it. She took in slow deep breaths then said, "No. Do not summon the doctor. I am calm. I apologize for getting upset."

"It's all right. Just be glad mom and dad weren't hear to witness your outburst," Skylar said. He released her shoulders and stood up straight. "Mom would have immediately canceled your party. Dad wouldn't be pleased with you either. He's already paid the orchestra."

"Please do not tell them about this," Eri said. _Please, do tell them about this. I don't want to go to this stupid party anyway._ She rested her hands on her lap and looked up at her brother.

"Don't worry, little sister," Skylar said. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "This is just between you and me."

Eri glanced over at her bodyguards. _And those two._ But she didn't order them not to tell her parents about this. Usually they didn't when she acted like this. And that was only because of her brother. They left it up to Skylar to tell their parents about this or not. It was always like that. She sighed. The one time she wished her bodyguards would speak up and rat on her to her parents and they remain obediently silent. _Morons._

"Announcing, Maid Marie," the butler said before stepping back out of the room.

"Lady Eri," Maid Marie said as she rushed into the room.

Eri looked at the woman. Instantly noticing the woman's deep brown eyes were full of frustration. She forced herself not to smile. She was supposed to be in her room ten minutes ago to get prepared for her party. She was late on purpose.

"What is going on here? You were suppose to be in your room ten minutes ago," Maid Marie said. "We need to get you ready for your party. The event starts in less than three hours."

"Forgive me, Marie," Skylar said. He turned to the maid, his nature grace taking over as he shifted from his relaxed posture to his formal one. He put his hands behind his back and properly addressed her. "It was all my fault. I was having a pleasant conversation with my sister and was not watching the time. Please, do not blame her for her tardiness."

"Oh, very well," Maid Marie said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I will not inform your parents of this. But let us hurry. We can skip your bath this time."

"That is very kind of you," Eri said, another fake and forced smile pulled across her lips. "I am ready to get dressed for the party. Let us proceed to my room."

"Very well, Lady Eri," Maid Marie said. She let her arms drop to her sides before walking over to Eri.

Eri sat patiently in her chair while Maid Marie took a hold of the handlebars on the back of her wheelchair and pushed her out of her room, the two bodyguards following closely behind. She remained quiet as she was pushed through the pale colored halls and into the main entrance where the elevator was located next to the grand staircase. The elevator a simple, clear glass box decorated in silvers and gold. It blended in rather well with the rest of the mansion. If you were new to this place it could actually easily be missed. But all of those who came here, they weren't new. They knew it was there.

They entered into the glass box. _A coffin,_ Eri thought. _A coffin that moves me from floor to floor of my prison._

She watched the room lift up as they ascended to the next level. Her bodyguards then opened the glass door. They stood on each side, allowing the maid to push her wheelchair from the small room. They resumed following as the maid pushed her down the halls to her bedroom. Again, they opened the doors, let them enter, then closed the door sto guard outside. It was rare for the guards to actually enter into her room. They only did when they believed something was wrong. The rest of the time they remained outside her door and outside on the ground to make sure no one tried to climb up to her balcony.

"Here we are, Lady Eri," Maid Marie said.

"Good afternoon, Lady Eri," three other maids said as they bowed to her.

"Good afternoon, ladies," Eri said.

"Shall we begin?" Maid Marie asked.

"Yes, let us proceed with the preparations," Eri said. She continued to sit patiently in her wheelchair as the maid started moving around the large room. A sea of black dresses swayed around her in a practice dance that has been going on for years. She let her mind take over to prevent herself from becoming bored. She pretended that the maids were pirates. Dancing pirates, moving around the deck of a ship with her dress in their hands, or a hairbrush, or a ribbon that would be laced through her hair in one way or another. One held a paintbrush in her hand, making gentle strokes over Eri's pale skin, giving her more life and beauty.

 _A young lady must always look her best when greeting her guest_ , Eri heard her mother's voice say in her head. Her mother was all about appearance. It got annoying a lot of the time. But she couldn't blame her mother for it. Her mother, after all, was a dancer. Her mother was fairly famous too. Her mother was use to putting on make up and being graceful. It was in her blood just as it was in Eri's blood. Only Eri couldn't dance. Or even walk. No one noticed Eri's gracefulness because she couldn't show it.

"There you go, Young Mistress," Maid Marie said, pulling Eri from her pirate ballet. "You look absolutely beautiful."

Eri looked up at the mirror. She had been pushed over to her vanity. Staring back at her was her own reflection. Yet she felt like someone else was staring back at her. The only thing she could notice as herself was her light blue earrings. They were about half the size of pears and never left her ears. She couldn't remember where she had gotten them. She's just always had them. Other than those, she looked like a complete stranger. Her face and lips were painted up with just the right amount of makeup. _You should only use just enough makeup to highlight you already existing beauty,_ her mother's voice said in her head. _Too much and you will look like a clown desperately seeking attention. And we must not look like a clown. We must look like a proper young lady._

Her hair had been unbraided and braided again. The two braids twisted around each other in a circle on top of her head. Small blue and white flowers were stuck into the braids. And her dress was a light blue silk that her mother had a seamstress make special for this particular event. The bodice hugged her chest as the skirt flowed down to cover her matching blue slippers. The skirt and bodice had a V split in them, revealing an under white skirt that was also made of silk. She knew this dress would have been very lovely on the dance floor. The dance floor she never set foot on. The dance floor she was going to see later tonight.

"If you are ready, Lady Eri," Maid Marie said. "Your guests will be arriving soon."

"Yes, I am ready," Eri said. "Please, take me to greet them."

"As you wish, Lady Eri," Maid Marie said. Once again she took a hold of Eri's wheelchair. And once again Eri sat perfectly quiet as she was pushed through the mansion, her prison that she was never going to escape from.

Prisoner. Bodyguards. Glass doll.

…

Eri sat with a practiced expression of enjoyment on her face as she sat at the long rectangular table that was placed at the head of the room for her and her family. It was perfectly placed so she could over look her guests and see the orchestra that was placed in the balcony above the room and be protected by her bodyguards that stood behind her. Inside, she was extremely bored out of her mind. All the guests she expected to be here was. Over a hundred guests were scattered about the room. Some were dancing while others were sitting at the many tables and chairs that had been sat down. They had also eaten in this room. The dinning room, though it was big itself, couldn't fit this many people. So the maids and butlers bustled about for days in preparing this room for her birthday party. They pulled out several round tables and decorated them with silk white tablecloths, crystal vases that held beautifully grown white and yellow roses from her mother's flower gardens.

Occasionally, someone would come up to her and make a comment on how beautiful she looked in her dress or wish her a happy birthday then would quickly rush off to enjoy the festivities of dancing and dinning, leaving her behind with her boredom and the food that was spread out before her. No one every stayed long enough to have a real conversation with her. Even her own parents and brother weren't with her. They were out on the dance floor. Her father was dancing with other ladies, while her mother was dancing with other men. They did this often. It kept them "in the know" as her parents put it. She called it being nosy and gossiping. That's why they always danced with a lot of other people. They just wanted to know what all was going on behind closed doors and stuff.

Eri lifted her eyes to the back of the room just in time to see her brother sneaking off with a tall, long brown haired girl wearing a yellow, low cut, form fitting dress. She saw him dancing with her a lot. It was Pearl Vanderguard. It was also the girl that her brother had been with earlier that day. She knew because she was the only girl wearing the shade of lipstick that was on her brother's collar. She also knew they were sneaking off to enjoy a repeat of their _secret dance_ they did this afternoon.

She forced her eyes off her brother before he could disappear from her view. If she was asked if she knew where he was she could honestly say she doesn't know where he went. She looked around the room again. The tapestries hanging on the walls were decorated in elaborate patterns that really didn't fit a birthday party. They have been here for years. There use to be different tapestries hanging on the walls. But her mother had them removed years ago. For a while the walls were bare, but her mother thought it made the room look too big and empty. So her mother went out and bought new ones to put in here.

She didn't like these at all. She liked the old ones. Or she liked what she could remember of them. She couldn't remember exactly what was on them. All she could remember was there was some kind of island on them. Before she had obtained her disability, she would sneak down here late at night. She would open up the large windows and curtains. The moonlight would shine into the room, lighting up the tapestries. She then would spend hours in here dancing and talking to the tapestries like they were real and could understand her. She never really understood why she did that. She just remembered doing it.

" _You're in danger."_

"Huh?" Eri blinked and looked around the room for the voice that had spoken to her. But she didn't find anyone close enough to her. She sighed. "I guess I'm just so bored I'm hearing things now. At least the party is almost over."

"Hello, Eri," a voice said.

Eri looked up to see a young man, Bradley Hastings, son to an investor and dealer of many trades, some possibly illegal and on the black market if the rumors were true. She believed they were when she once saw his dad talking secretly to some pirates down an alley in town. But she never said a word to anyone about it. She didn't like to gossip. And she didn't really know what went on in that alley. She focused her attention on him instead. His black hair was cut perfectly just above his thin eyebrows. His bright green eyes ran over her dress, or technically her chest. She knew he was the type of guy who was more interested in a girl's chest than anything else. Still she was polite to him. She said, "Good evening, Bradley. Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yes, very much," Bradley said, his eyes still locked onto her chest.

"That's nice to hear," Eri said, wondering what he found so fascinating about her chest. It was just like many other girls. She wasn't overly big or too small. She was in the middle, she guessed. _Get your eyes off my chest, pervert._ "Was there something you needed?"

"Yes, I do have a question for you," Bradley said. He finally lifted his eyes to hers. A smile appeared on his lips, but it wasn't a real one. It was a fake one, a fake one that she has seen many times. "I would like to invite you to a little gathering that I'm planning next week. Some friends of mine are getting together to go sailing. It is going to be a lot of fun. And I would absolutely love it if you would join us."

Sailing, on the water, a fake invitation, and a lie.

"Thank you very much for the invitation, Bradley. I would love to join you. But I must speak with my parents about this first." Eri smiled. _Sure you want me to come. You're only asking because your parents want to stay on my parents' good side._

"Yes, of course," Bradley said. His eyes relaxed at her words. His smile became real. He knew her parents would never let her go out on the sea. They never did. "Well, I hope you have had a happy birthday. If you will excuse me, I must go find my mother now."

"Yes, of course. Thank you. I have had a wonderful birthday," Eri said. _I hate it here. You got the answer you were seeking. Just go away already._

"Enjoy your cake. It is extremely good this year," Bradley said before walking off.

Eri let her eyes drop down to the small piece of cake that was still lying on her plate. She knew she should eat it. Birthdays were the only time she really got sweets. She just didn't feel like it. She didn't feel like sweets, she didn't feel like partying, and she really didn't feel like being here. She just really, really wanted this party to be over with. They had _presented_ her to their guests each time they had arrived. They then had a formal _presentation_ to officially welcome her into society before sitting down to eat their dinner. After that she spent about two hours opening gifts from people. Then they had cake and everyone started dancing.

But now, it was finally over. The orchestra had finished their final song of the night. After the final note had died down and the people had finished clapping, her dad clapped his hands in a way to gather everyone's attention. Eri turned her eyes to him as well. He stood beside the table she was at. She wondered when he got there. Dressed in his black tuxedo, he addressed the people with grace and elegance that had been breed and forced into him since he was a child. He said, "Honored guest, I would like to thank you all for coming here this evening. It has been a pleasure to have you all here on our daughter's eighteenth birthday and her official introduction to society." He paused when the crowd erupted into applause. He gave them a moment before holding up his hand to silence them. "I believe my daughter would like to express her gratitude to you all now. Eri?"

"Yes, Father," Eri said when her dad gestured to her. She smiled at him then at her guest. _I hate having to address everyone like this. I was completely bored at this dumb party. You all came here for the food and dancing not to spend time with me. Just leave already. Get out._ "Thank you all for coming this evening. I had such a wonderful time meeting with you all. It is such an honor to have finally be presented into society. And I thank you all for the wonderful gifts you have given me. I will cherish them and all of the memories I have made here tonight. Thank you all."

The room erupted into another round of thunderous applause before the people slowly began to make their way over to say their goodbyes to her before making their way out of the dance hall then out of the mansion.

"Well that was exciting," Eri's mother said as she walked over to her. Her deep purple gown swayed as she walked.

Eri watched her mother closely. She wondered if she were still able to walk if she would ever be as graceful as her mother was. Her mother was such a wonderful dancer. She was gifted in many forms of dancing, but ballet was her specialty. "Yes, Mother, it was."

"How are you feeling, dear?" Mrs. Azure asked, eyeing her daughter. "You look a bit pale and exhausted."

"I suppose I am," Eri said. _I'm just fine. I'm only bored out of my mind._ "I think I would like to retire to bed now."

"Of course, my dear. It has been such a lone and exciting night for you," Mrs. Azure said. She gestured for Maid Marie with an elegant wave of her hand. "Maid Marie, please escort my daughter to her room. And immediately put her to bed after changing her clothes."

"Yes, Madam," Maid Marie said with a curtsy. "Right away. Are you ready, Lady Eri?"

"Yes, let us go," Eri said. She leaned back in her wheelchair, hands resting in her lap as she was wheeled out of the room with her bodyguard shadows closely in tow behind her and Marie. Once on the second floor, she glanced at her brother's bedroom door when they passed by it on her way to her own room. She could hear small groans and moans coming from inside of it. _I figured they would have gone elsewhere. But I guess it doesn't matter since mom and dad's room is one the third floor._ She shifted her eyes back in front of her. She wasn't worried about tipping off the maid or her bodyguards. She was fairly sure they knew of her brother's little escapades. It was hard for them to not know with how they're everywhere on the grounds. They just never said anything about it because it was none of their business. She did wonder if her parents actually knew or not. Sometimes it was so obvious what her brother was up to. She figured if they did know they were just in denial about it. After all why would their precious, properly raised son be out sleeping around with young women?

Eri pushed it out of her mind. She didn't want to think about what all her brother was doing to the girl he was with at the moment. She had little to no interest in that kind of thing. After all, who would bother to do something like that with a girl like her? She really didn't care. She didn't have a romantic interest in any guys on this island. Those who showed minor interest in her were only interested in her for personal gain. And that typically lead back to her parents money. She could easily spot a liar. She was very good at observing people and listening to conversations that other people often missed because they were too busy talking themselves to notice.

Now in her own room, she sat still while the maids undressed her and removed the makeup from her face. Once dressed in her cotton nightshirt and pants, they helped her get into bed and pulled the thick blanket over her legs. The rest of the maids left the room while Maid Marie stayed behind for another minute.

"Have a pleasant evening, Lady Eri," Maid Marie's voice said, pulling Eri from her thoughts like they did before. "Sleep well."

Eri looked up from her blanket. She smiled at the maid. "Thank you, Marie. You have a pleasant evening as well."

With a curtsy, the maid was gone. The guards closed the double doors, and stood like statues out in the hall just like they were doing below her balcony.

Eri sighed. She looked over at the closed doors of her balcony. They were always closed at night, even when she wanted them open. She loved smelling the salt from the sea while she slept. But her parents didn't like it. They were worried she would catch a cold and get sick again. And they just couldn't let their precious little glass doll get sick again. But it was far too late for that. She was already sick. She was sick and tired of her life. Her empty, boring, lifeless life that was forced upon her day after day. She wanted to escape. She needed to escape.

She flipped her blanket off of her. Lifting her legs up, she placed them on the feet rest of her wheelchair then pivoted her body into the seat. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep right now. So she rolled herself over to the balcony. Opening the doors as quietly as she could, she went out on it. A cool breeze washed up against her warm face as the song of the crickets met her ears. The salt from the sea gathered in her nose. She loved it. She closed her eyes and imagined herself sailing on the water. She imagined herself flying over the water. Her imagination took her far away from this place, this prison. It took her to a happier place, a place where she got to meet Luffy and sail with him and his crew. They went on several grand adventures in her mind.

A loud thump broke her imagination. Her eyes shot to her bedroom doors when she heard someone shuffling out in the hall. It wasn't normal for her bodyguards to move around much. She glanced back at the moon. It was just after midnight. She had been daydreaming for a little over three hours. She turned her eyes back to the doors and watched as shadows moved across her floor from the light that peaked in from underneath the doors. Her heart strummed against her chest when voices whispered among themselves in the hall. Her bodyguards never spoke by her door. They didn't want to take the chance of waking her from her _much needed rest_. Something wasn't right. She just knew something wasn't right.

" _You're in danger! You must get out of there!"_

Eri opened her mouth to reply to the voice she heard. She wanted to ask who it was. But she couldn't. She couldn't find her voice as her bedroom door slowly started to open. Then it was completely open. Opened to reveal four men wearing gasmasks over their faces and black clothes. She wanted to scream. She wanted to call out for help, but she couldn't. She still couldn't find her voice. And she knew calling for help wouldn't do her any good. She could see her bodyguards lying on the floor out in the hall. She knew they were unconscious. She quickly put that together from the masks the four men were wearing and from her own vision going blurry and her head becoming light. If it wasn't for the cool breeze coming up from the sea, she knew she would have already been fast asleep with whatever gas they had used to subdue the guards of the mansion. Her heart struck hard in her chest as she gathered what little courage she could. She addressed them. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"We want you," one of them said. His voice was muffled from his mask, but she could easily tell from the way the other three men were standing around him that he was their leader.

"For what?" Eri asked. "Money? You can have it. Just take it and go."

"I'm sorry, Lil' Miss," the man said. "We don't want your parents money. We want _you_."

Eri's mouth fell open. What could they possibly want with _her_? She didn't understand any of this. Surely these men were after her parents' _money_ not _her_. They had to be. They couldn't really be after her. She didn't have anything anyone would want. She was just a helpless girl in a wheelchair.

"You're coming with us," he said moving farther into the room.

"S-stay away!" Eri shouted. She grabbed her wheelchair. She started to move away, but she had nowhere to go. She was trapped and she couldn't fight back. She had no choice but to watch helplessly as this man approached her. She had no choice but to let him place his hand on the back of her head while placing a white cloth over her mouth. Of course she tried to pull his hands off of her, but she was too weak. And she was becoming weaker with each passing second. There was something on the cloth. Something that was making her go to sleep.

"That's a good little girl. You just go right to sleep now," the man said while the other three, or maybe just two, chuckled at her predicament. Their voices got farther and farther away from her as her eyelids fell over her eyes. "And when you wake up, we're going to have a nice little talk about you taking us to Anemone Island. The island hidden in the winds."


	2. An Adventure Begins P2

An Adventure Begins

Part Two

Out on the sea, under the bright moon hanging in the sky, two pirate ships sat together. Snuggling the night while their crews, most of them, slept peacefully in their beds. Only a few of the pirates were up and keeping an eye out for any signs of danger that might come their way. The rest were inside of their quarters, sleeping peacefully or most of them were. There was one particular pirate that was having trouble getting to sleep. And that pirate was Luffy. He had been tossing and turning all night long in an attempt to fall asleep. One minute he was sleeping just fine, then the next he was wide awake. He would moan and groan while tossing around trying to find some way to get back to sleep. Finally, after hours of fighting it, he gave up. Sitting up, he said, "I just can't sleep. Maybe I'm just hungry."

After debating whether or not he was really hungry, he got out of bed and left the men's quarters. He ran his eyes over the deck to find Sanji was one of the two keeping a look out tonight.

"Hey, Luffy," Sanji said upon seeing his captain awake. "What are you doing up? I thought everyone was asleep."

"I couldn't sleep," Luffy replied. He closed the door behind him and walked closer to his friend.

"Really?" Sanji asked with shock clearly present in his voice. He couldn't recall a single time that Luffy had trouble sleeping. The Straw Hat captain was never one to have sleeping troubles. He usually was the first one to fall asleep and often fell asleep at times that he shouldn't have. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Hm," Luffy hummed. He crossed his arms over his chest and thought about his friend's question. "I don't think so."

Sanji noticed that, despite Luffy's words, there was something on the young captain's mind. "Are you sure about that? You look like there really is something on your mind."

"I don't know," Luffy said. He turned his eyes up towards the sky. "Maybe I'm just feeling a bit guilty."

"Guilty for what?" Sanji asked.

"For not having written Eri," Luffy said.

"Eri? Your pen pal you've had since you were a kid?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah." Luffy nodded. "I haven't written her for several months. In fact, I really don't remember the last time I wrote her. I think it was shortly after I finished my training with Rayleigh." He brought his eyes down to the deck of the ship.

Sanji quickly noted an odd sense of worry in his captain's eyes. It was more worry then there should have been. "Well, you could go ahead and write her. We have been busy these past several months. Going into the New World, that whole thing with Fishman Island, then Punk Hazard, and Dressrosa. All you have to do is tell her about all of that stuff and she'll be fine."

"I suppose so," Luffy said. "She knows that we travel a lot. But she's probably worried. I know she keeps up with our adventures through the newspapers so she's seen everything that's happened in Dressrosa."

"Then just write her and stop worrying about it," Sanji said with a smile. "She'll understand that we've been busy."

"Yeah." Luffy nodded slowly but didn't move an inch.

Sanji easily noticed something was wrong but his captain didn't. "Are you sure there's nothing else bothering you?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Luffy said. He brought his eyes to Sanji. "Why?"

"You look like there's something else on your mind," Sanji said. His own eyes filled with concern for his captain.

"It's nothing." Luffy then smiled. "I'm sure you're right. I'm just feeling guilty about not having written her in some time. She'll understand. I'll go write that letter right now. Then maybe I can get some sleep."

"All right," Sanji said. He watched as his captain then turned and disappeared towards the library.

...

Luffy all but ran up the stairs to the upper deck then bolted towards the library. Once inside of the rounded room, he dug out a couple pieces of paper from the desk and a pencil. Sitting down in the chair, he thought for about two seconds on what he wanted to write to her then started scribbling it down. He told her everything that he and his crew had been up to, even how they were now sailing with the Heart Pirates. It took him almost two hours to get everything written down. But when he finally finished, he folded up the papers and tuck them snugly into an envelop. He then held the letter out at arm's length. "There! All done! She's going to be so excited when she finally receives this! I wish I could go see her!"

Luffy hummed at that idea. He lowered his arms and looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder if we could go see her. I don't think her home island is that far away from us. I'll have to ask Nami. Yeah. I think I will. I really want to go see her. But I'll still send my letter since she'll get it before we arrive."

Luffy placed the letter down on the table and stood up. He paused for a second, wondering if he should tell her that they were going to come see her. "Naw. I'll let it be a surprise."

With a firm smile and nod, Luffy left the library. The letter remained on the desk, spotlight in the moonlight falling in through the window.

...

Pratt rushed forward just as Eri slumped in her chair. He grabbed her shoulders and leaned her back against the backrest before looking her over with concern.

"Don't tell me your worried about her," Jaq said. "She's a job not a friend."

"She might be a job, but she needs to be handled with care," Pratt said. "We need her to talk, correct? If she falls out of her chair and busts her jaw or something-"

"All right! All right!" Jaq snapped. "If you want to baby her then go right ahead! I'm not going to stop you!"

"Will you two stop shouting?" Mitch asked. He glanced down the hallways to see if anyone was coming despite the gas they had used on the entire household. "We might have used gas to put everyone to sleep, but that doesn't mean someone else won't come in here."

"He's right," the boss said. He placed the white cloth back into his pocket and headed towards the door. "Mitch, gather up some up some of her clothes. Pratt, you carry the girl since you're more concerned for her safety than anyone else. And, Jaq, you grab her wheelchair."

"We're taking her wheelchair?" Jaq asked, tilting his head like it was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. "Wouldn't that give her a way to escape?"

"On the island we're taking her to?" the boss asked. "You know it's impossible for her to escape from that island. She won't even be able to get out of the mansion since it's not build for a wheelchair."

"Then why the chair?" Jaq asked.

"It so she can take herself to the bathroom and shower," the boss said. "Unless you want to take care of all that? You know, carry her from room to room?"

"No thank you," Jaq said. "I'm not a babysitter."

"Then it's settled," the boss said. "Now hurry up and let's get out of here. That gas usually knocks people out for several hours, but it does effect people differently. And there's still the chance of people coming here. We don't have enough gas left to knock many more people out."

"Right, boss," the three men chorus.

Mitch wondered over to Eri's dresser. He ran his hand over the colorful design of it before finally opening he top drawer. Running his eyes over her underwear, which he eyed carefully and in enjoyment, before turning and grabbing a suitcase out of her closet. He paused to look at the dresses hanging inside of it. They all were clearly suited for dances, fancy dinner parties, and regular parties so he decided not to take them. Instead he gathered up the necessities of underwear, bras, socks, shirts, pants, one pair of shoes, and a couple skirts then her hairbrush off her vanity. Shoving them all into the suitcase he had.

Pratt carefully lifted Eri out of her wheelchair. With her head resting on his shoulder, he walked her towards the bedroom door while Jaq folded up her wheelchair and followed after them. Avoiding the slow moving elevator, they hustled down the stairs, then dashed out of the house, leaving everyone behind and no trace of who took Eri.

The moon light up the entire island that night. But having scouted out the island before hand, the boss easily led his little crew through the shadows of the trees and buildings on the island. Not a single person saw them wondering through the night. Not a single person saw them load up the unconscious girl onto their ship and sail off into the night.

...

Pratt started to walk Eri into the ship but paused. He turned back to his boss and asked, "What exactly are we going to do with her until we get to the island?"

"I'm going to keep her sedated," the boss said.

"Is that a good idea?" Pratt asked. "Won't it hurt her in her condition?"

"Man, you are far too concerned about her," Jaq said with a roll of his eyes. He turned the helm, steering them south of her home island.

"She won't be in any danger," the boss said. "Like you said before, we need to take care of her. So go ahead and put her in the room I designated for her. I'll be in soon to check on her and her vitals."

"Yes, sir," Pratt said. He then entered into the ship. The ship was redesigned last year specifically for this particular mission. Their boss didn't want to really treat Eri like a prisoner since they needed her to be strong and healthy for their plans. So he redesigned the ship a bit to allow her to sleep in a room that was now on the main level of the deck. This would also give them easy access to her and easily be able to notice if she tried to escaped despite the chances of that being extremely low, especially with the boss keeping her sedated until they got to their hideout.

Mitch followed Pratt into the ship while still carrying her suitcase in one hand and pushing her wheelchair with the other until they entered her room. As Pratt carried the girl over to the bed, he carelessly dropped her suitcase of the floor and abandoned her wheelchair as quick as he could before walking back out of the room.

Pratt released a low growl and frowned at the treatment his crewmate did to her belongings. But he didn't say anything. He knew from past experience with these guys they did what they wanted. There was no point in him speaking up in situations like this. So he just laid her down on the bed then gently pulled the blanket out from underneath her. As he laid it over her, he couldn't help but let his eyes drift to her face. He let his eyes carefully examine her as she slept. He couldn't help but notice that she really was rather attractive like the man at the bar had said she was. Her blonde hair was naturally light, her skin was a beautiful pale color probably because she didn't spend much time out in the sun, her nose was perky, her eyebrows naturally thin, and her hands small and delicate. He also noticed that she would have made a very lovely dancer since she clearly had a lot of natural grace. If only she could dance. In that moment, he, for some reason, really wanted to see her dance. He wanted to see if she really was as gracefully as she appeared to him and not noticing his hand reaching out to stroke against her cheek.

"I hope you're not really getting attached to her," the boss then said from the door. "You know that's not a good thing to do in our line of business."

Pratt jumped. Realizing he had been staring at their prisoner for several minutes, he pulled back away from her with warm cheeks. "N-no, sir. I'm sorry. I just got lost in thought. That's all."

"I hope that is all," the boss said. He walked over to the bed with a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff in his hands. He sat down on the edge of the bed when Pratt stepped away from it. He first used the stethoscope to check her breathing and heartbeat before using the blood pressure cuff.

Pratt opened his mouth to speak, but quickly cut himself off. He was already accused multiple times of caring far too much about this girl. He didn't want to add to that by asking how she was.

"She's just fine," the boss said, easily sensing his subordinate's unasked question. "Her heartbeat and breathing are normal. While she's out, I'll monitor her closely for any changes."

"Yes, sir," Pratt said. "Are there any orders for us?"

"Just the typical ones," the boss said as he stood up from the bed. "Keep an eye out for ships, pirate, civilians, and Navy alike. Since we're sailing at night, we shouldn't run into anyone. But when the sun rises that could change. It should be smooth sailing between here and our destination. We've sailed these waters enough to be able to dodge all the hazards. And since we pulled off taking her without any problems we should arrive at the hideout a little ahead of schedule."

"Yes, sir," Pratt said.

...

The next day when Luffy got up he had an overwhelming desire to go check on the letter he had written Eri. He had no idea what possessed him to do this. He's never checked on them before. But he did this time. Quickly jumping off his bunk, he dashed for the door.

"Good morning, Luffy," Nami said when Luffy ran out on the deck.

"How did you sleep?" Robin added. Both women blinked in confusion when Luffy just ran passed them without a word.

"That was highly out of character," Chopper said. "Where do you think he's going?"

"He was acting strange early this morning as well," Sanji said while stepping out of the kitchen. He rested his arms on the railing and looked down at his friends.

"You're tell me," Usopp said when he stepped out of the men's quarters. "He toss and turned practically all night long."

"That's not like him," Nami said.

"He came out on the deck too," Sanji said. "He was upset about not writing Eri for a while."

"That got him upset?" Nami asked. She tilted her head like she couldn't believe or process the thought.

"I told him to go ahead and write her," Sanji said. "He did then went to bed. I have no idea why he's like this now."

The Straw Hat pirates then exchanged looks. None of the knew what else to say about their captain's odd behavior.

...

Luffy ran all the way back to the library. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw the letter he wrote to Eri was still laying right where he left it. He walked over to the desk. Staring at the letter for several minutes before he finally picked it up. "I don't understand. Why is it still here? Did something happen to her?"

Luffy's heart took a sharp throb in his chest. He spun on his heels and bolted back for the deck. Once he reached it, he almost plowed into Nami. He grabbed her shoulders and said, "Nami! You have to take us to Eri's home!"

"What?" Nami asked before her vision became blocked with white. "Huh?"

"The letter didn't leave!" Luffy shouted. "It's still here!"

"What are you talking about?" Nami asked. She pushed Luffy away from her, finally able to see the white blocking her vision was an envelope.

"The letter I wrote to Eri didn't go to her!" Luffy said.

"Clearly," Nami said. "You have to mail it, Luffy. You know? With a mail bird?"

"What? That's not how our letters get sent," Luffy said with confusion clearly in his eyes.

"What are you talking about, Luffy?" Chopper asked.

"We never use mail birds," Luffy said.

"You can't be serious," Nami said.

"Of course I'm serious!" Luffy said. He pumped his fists up and down in annoyance. "We just write letters and then their gone!"

"That doesn't make any sense," Robin said. "How can you just write letters and then their gone?"

"I don't know," Luffy said, turning his eyes to the dark haired woman. "They just are. It's always been that way."

"That doesn't make a lick of sense," Usopp said. He then took the letter from Luffy and looked at it. "Letters just don't disappear. You have to mail them. Look, you didn't even put an address on this letter."

"That's because we don't use addresses," Luffy said.

"Come to think of it," Usopp said, lowering the letter from his face. "The ship doesn't have an address. And we only get newspapers from the mail birds. How have you been sending Eri letters?"

"I already told you!" Luffy shouted. "We write them and then they just go to the other!"

"And we told you that doesn't make any sense!" Usopp said before smashing Luffy over the head with his fist.

"You make it sound like they just disappear on the wind," Sanji said.

"I think they do," Luffy said. His crew then started laughing, but for Robin who held a curious look on her face. "What are you laughing for?! This is serious! Something might have happened to her!"

"Calm down, Luffy," Nami said after forcing herself to stop laughing. "I'm sure she's just fine. You've clearly just forgotten to mail the letter. You can do it later. Sanji's about got breakfast ready for us."

"No! I don't want to eat!" Luffy screamed, causing all of his crewmates to gasp at him for turning down food.

"You don't want food?" Usopp asked. "Now I know something's wrong for sure! Chopper! You're the doctor! Check him out! Luffy's sick!"

"Quick! Someone take him to my office!" Chopper screamed.

Usopp then grabbed Luffy and bolted for the doctor's office.

"Is something wrong, Robin?" Sanji asked when he noticed the odd look on the woman's face.

"No," Robin said with a small smile. "It's nothing."

Sanji blinked. He clearly could see it wasn't nothing. Something was on the dark haired woman's mind. But from past experience he knew she won't open up about anything unless she wanted to. So he let it go and stepped back into the kitchen to finish up breakfast.

...

Usopp slammed the rubber man onto the bed then stepped back for Chopper to examine their captain. "So what is it, Chopper? Some life threatening illness? A high fever? The plague? Are we going to lose our beloved captain?"

"I'm not sure," Chopper said as he continued examining Luffy in every way possible. "His heartbeat is a little high. But that could be because he was yelling and running around before."

Luffy tried to mumbled around the thermometer in his mouth but wasn't able to.

"Just relax, Luffy," Usopp said dramatically with tears running down his cheeks. "You're going to be fine. We have Chopper, Tra, and Neo to help heal you. You'll be all right. Oh, please, let him be all right."

"I'm still not finding anything," Chopper said. He pressed his stethoscope to Luffy's chest again. "It might be a good idea to have Law and Neo take a look at him."

"I don't need to be looked at," Luffy said after spitting out the thermometer. "All I need is to go see her."

"Well, where does she live?" Nami asked, stepping into Chopper's office.

"Why would you want to know that?" Usopp asked.

"If she doesn't live to far away from our current location," Nami said, "we can go see her."

"Really?!" Luffy asked with a smile.

"Sure." Nami nodded.

"Great!" Luffy cheered, jumping off the bed. "She lives on Pax Island!"

"All right," Nami said as she turned and headed out of the room. "I'll check my maps and see how far away the island is."

"That's so great!" Luffy said as he followed after Nami. He followed her all the way into her navigation room. He bounced around while she looked through her maps. "Well? Well? Well?"

"Give me a minute, Luffy," Nami said, flipping through a couple more maps. "I know it's here somewhere. Ah! Here it is. And it looks like we're..."

"We're what?" Luffy asked. "We're what? Tell me! Tell me!"

"From my calculations we're about eight days away from Pax Island," Nami said.

"So we can go see her?!" Luffy asked.

"Why are you asking me that?" Nami asked giving him a smirk. "You're the captain. If you want to go see her, then we're going to go see her."

"Yes!" Luffy cheered. He bounced around the room before running out to tell the others. "We're going to go see Eri!"

"Hold on, Luffy!" Nami said as she chased after him. "You need to discuss this with Tra first! We are still sailing with the Heart Pirates after all!"

Luffy barely heard her. But once he got to the deck of the ship, he grabbed a hold of the railing and flung himself over to the sub's deck. He then ran into the already open door of the sub that someone had opened at some point. He made his way into the galley where everyone was currently eating breakfast.

"Hey, Straw Hat," a couple Heart Pirates greeted before turning back to their breakfast.

"What's up, Luffy?" Neo asked as Law frowned at the intruding pirate from behind his newspaper. "You look a bit frazzled. Is something wrong?"

"Yes!" Luffy yelled.

"Don't scream like that, Straw Hat," Law said, laying the newspaper down on the table. "Just tell us what you want. We're a bit busy here."

"And that's why we need to go see her," Luffy said after telling Law and his crew what he told his own crew. The entire Heart Pirates stopped eating and looked at the young captain before slowly turning their eyes back to their breakfast and murmuring amongst themselves about Luffy's sanity.

"You can't be serious," Shachi said. "You want to go all the way to Pax Island because you didn't mail your own letter?"

"I didn't mail it because I never have before! I already told you that!" Luffy said.

"That just doesn't make any sense," Penguin said. "Letters just don't disappear on their own."

"We're going!" Luffy insisted. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Straw Hat, we don't have time to running around and chase after silly things like this," Law said. "We have more important things to do. Like take down Kaido?"

"But we're already doing that," Luffy said. "Besides, we're not really doing much right now anyway. And it's a short trip."

"Eight days isn't a short trip," Law said with a frown.

"It's not that long," Neo then said. "And to make it even shorter I can use my wind and water crystals to push us along. I can at least cut the travel time in half."

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered before wrapping his arms around Neo's shoulders from behind her. "I knew I could count on you! Neo can use her crystals!"

Law released a disapproving growl for the suggestion of Neo using her crystals for such an extended amount of time, but mostly it was for Luffy hugging his love. "Release her at once, Straw Hat."

"Not gonna happen," Luffy said. "So, are we going?"

"Fine," Law said with a reluctant sigh. "But Neo is not going to use her crystals constantly. I'll work on a plan for that later on how much she's going to use her crystals to push us along. For now, let's just sail the regular way."

"Right!" Luffy cheered.

"Would you like to join us for breakfast, Luffy?" Neo then asked.

"Naw. Sanji already has some of my favorites prepared. I'll join you for lunch though," Luffy said. He lowered one of his hands to her rounded stomach. "Good morning, baby. How are you today?"

"Baby's just fine," Neo said with a smile.

"That's great," Luffy said before he headed towards the door. "I'll go tell my crew we're heading to Pax Island. See you later."

"Later, Luffy," Neo said while the rest of the crew mumble their own goodbyes to the Straw Hat captain.

"He's so insane," Penguin said once the younger captain was gone. He then turned to his own captain and added, "How did you put up with him during Punk Hazard and Dressrosa?"

"It wasn't easy," Law grumbled.

Neo couldn't help but giggled at Law's sour face as he dove back into the morning newspaper. She said, "Well, with Luffy around it's guaranteed that we'll never get bored. I wonder if something happened to his friend."

"Are you worried?" Penguin asked.

"Not really," Neo said. "But I can't help but be a bit concerned about his story on how the letters just disappeared after they wrote them."

"You don't actually believe him, do you?" Bepo asked.

"I'm not sure," Neo said, turning her eyes to their navigator across the table from her. "Something about it just sounds familiar, but I can't figure out why it does."

"Perhaps it was a similar plot in one of the many books you've read," Tero said from the next table over.

Neo turned her eyes to the man. "Perhaps you're right. I've read a lot of fantasy books after all. And they're just plagued with magic. Anyway, Bepo, after breakfast let's get headed in the right direction. Be sure to collaborate with Nami before hand."

"Aye aye, Captain Neo!" Bepo chirped happily.

"Hey," Law protested with a smile. "It's my job to order the crew around like that."

"It's my job to since I'm your co-captain," Neo said with a wink at Law. "So what are you going to do about it, lover?"

"Well, for the order I'm not going to do anything since you are the co-captain," Law said. "But for sassing me, I'm going to punish you later."

Neo bit her lip in an attempt to keep herself from blushing at the sexual thought Law passed to her mind through their bond. She said, "Great. I can't wait for my punishment then."

"You two," Penguin said with a snicker. "Sometime's I wonder why you two even come out of your room."

"Or how they haven't broken condoms before and ended up with a dozen kids by now," Shachi added.

"Hey!" Neo protested, her cheeks now burning red. "We're not that bad!"

"Yes! You! Are!" the entire crew said simultaneously.

"Oh!" Neo pouted while Law just chuckled.

...

Roughly two and a half days later, the four men and unconscious young woman finally arrived at their destination. The men took in the island that hid their hideout, feeling like they were returning home after a simple vacation. While pulling into the small cove that hid the small dock to the island, Jaq expertly guided their ship into it with ease. He said, "It's finally good to be back here. I've missed this place a lot for some reason."

"It hasn't changed a bit," Mitch said, running his eyes over the rocky walls of the island that towered over them. It was the perfect location for someone like them to hide out. Not many sailed in this direction. And even if they did, they always passed right by it because of the rocky design of the island. The rocks were so big no one noticed that in the middle of the island was a lush paradise and a mansion. There was only one way, unless you could fly, to get onto this island. And that was at the entrance they just came through. One opening in a certain rock on the south side of the island lead into the docks that they themselves put in after discovering this place four years ago. No one ever noticed it was there since it was well hidden. If you didn't know what you were looking for, you never would find your way into the island.

"Rocks tend to stay the same, moron," Jaq said with a hearty laugh.

"I know, stupid," Mitch shot. His lips curled into a smile. He was use to being called names by Jaq. It never bothered him. It was just the way they were together.

"All right," the boss then said. "Enough of that. Let's get the girl and get inside. We're all a little tired after that trip."

"I second that," Jaq said as he and his two crewmates entered into the ship to gather up the girl and her belongings. Like before Pratt was the one who carried Eri, Mitch grabbed her clothes, and Jaq pushed along her wheelchair. Together they made their way to the gangplank of the ship. Walking down it until they reached the wooden dock below.

"Looks like we made it just in time," Pratt said when a raindrop fell onto his face. He looked up at the sky. The clouds were turning grey from the incoming storm. The salty air become warm and thick as they moved along the docks. The rain then started coming down. It wet the rocks around them, causing the air to fill with a metallic smell of the rain mixing with the dirt and rocks.

"Hurry up," the boss said. "I don't want her getting wet."

"Right," Pratt said. Carefully placing his feet one after the other, he made it off the deck and into the forest before it started raining harder. The leaves gave them enough shelter to keep them all dry as they made their way through the thick forest. After about three minutes of walking, they came to a small opening that lead up to the five story mansion that had became their secret hideout in the past few years since they found this place. Their boss ran up to the doors and opened them for his subordinates to run in. They all stepped into the dark house together. It lit up when their boss started to turn on the lights. The light washed over the room, revealing it's large space filled with rectangular tables along the walls and paintings of an island being blown around by the wind. Right in front of the main doors was a grand stair case leading up to the next levels. Pratt sighed at seeing the stairs. Their boss decided that Eri was going to be held on the top floor, the fifth floor. He was going to have to carry her all the way up there. Luckily, she only weighted about a hundred and ten pounds. So, without complaint, he made his way to the stairs and started walking up them. Jaq and Mitch followed him.

Jaq complained the whole way for having the lung her wheelchair up the stairs. "I can't believe I have to take this thing all the way up these stairs."

"Look on the bright side," Mitch said as they rounded the stop of the stairs only to come to another set of staircases. "This is the only time you have to carry that thing. Once the boss get's what he was, she'll be out of our hair for good. We won't need her anymore."

"True," Jaq said. "I just hope he notices when she awakes to her abilities and gets her in the bracelets before she takes off on us."

"There's nothing to worry about," Mitch said. "First things first, we have to get her to believe she actually has this ability. Besides, I think he's going to put the bracelets on her when she wakes up and only take them off when she trains."

"Finally!" Jaq said when they reached the top floor of the mansion. He dropped the wheelchair down on its wheels.

"Careful!" Pratt hissed.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Jaq spat back. "It's just a stupid chair!"

"One that she needs to get around with!" Pratt said. "She's completely helpless without it!"

"Oh, look who finally grew a backbone," Jaq said, noting the harsh glare in Pratt's eyes.

"Shut up!" Pratt said. "We've already been over this with the boss! She needs that wheelchair! Unless, you've changed your mind about carrying her around!"

"No way I'm carrying her around," Jaq said. "We've already been over that too."

"Then stop treating her wheelchair like it's some useless, extra piece of luggage you can just throw around carelessly," Pratt said.

"Fine," Jaq said.

Mitch rolled his eyes. His fights with Jaq were always more on the playful side of things. But Jaq and Pratt's fights were always more heated when Pratt actually spoke up. Often he wondered how they even managed to pull of their jobs with how different these two men were and how often they argued. The men then entered into the fourth room down the hall.

Pratt laid Eri down on the bed. He paused, wondering if he should cover her up or not. He pressed his hand to her arm, feeling her skin. She was slightly cool to the touch. So he grabbed the smaller blanket that was folded down at the foot of the bed and covered her up with it. He paused again in suddenly realization that this room was set up exactly like her room back in her home. Once you stepped into the room, the bed was on the left side, about ten yards from the door. The closet and bathroom was on the left side of the room as well. The dresser they had for her was on the right side of the room with her new vanity and a small elevator that once was used for laundry was going to be used at times to give her meals so they wouldn't have to walk all the way up here every time. And the window was straight ahead of the door with a small sliver of a view of the ocean through the tall trees and a broken rock face. Beside the window was a round table with two flower pattern armchairs. And paintings depicting an island on the wind decorated the walls. The only real differences were the colors of the room, the small elevator, table, chairs, the paintings, and it didn't have a balcony. He kneaded his eyebrows in concentration and confusion. How was this possible? How did their boss know exactly what Eri's bedroom looked like? Did their boss somehow make his way into Eri's home without them or anyone else knowing about it? Or was this just a coincidental? After all there was only so many ways you could decorate a room. Whatever the answers were, it gave him a cold chill through his entire body just thinking about it. He knew their boss was a dangerous man, but he didn't really get the whole view of that until this mission. Kidnapping a helpless girl in a wheelchair? They might as well have kidnapped a child. It bothered him. And it was bothering him that he was second guessing his boss. He never had a reason to before. So why was he now?

"All right," the boss said, making Pratt jump and bringing the man out of his thoughts. All three of the men turned and looked at him. "Now that everything's settled up here, you all can get settled in as well."

"Great," Mitch said.

"Yeah," Jaq said with a slight pout. "We should have brought some of those bar women with us. It's going to get lonely out here."

"Like you didn't get your fill of them at the bar," Mitch said with a chuckle. He then elbowed his friend in the arm. "You slept with every single one of them."

"It's not my fault they were so attractive," Jaq said with a triumphant grin. "Am I right, Pratt? You slept with the most attractive one."

"I didn't sleep with her," Pratt said as his cheeks heated up. "I'm not so free as you three are."

"Are you serious? You didn't sleep with that hot chick?" Jaq asked in disbelief.

"That's right," Pratt said firmly. "I didn't sleep with her. She was nice and all, but I didn't like her."

"You are such a looser!" Jaq said slapping his hand over his own face. "How could you turn that woman down?"

"Because I didn't like her," Pratt said again.

"Whatever, man," Jaq said with a shake of his head. "Sometimes I think you're still a virgin."

"And so what if I am?" Pratt asked. He crossed his arms over his chest. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a virgin."

"Whatever you say, man," Jaq said. He shook his head and headed out of the room with Mitch by his side. They mumbled to each other as they went.

Pratt sighed. He knew they were talking about him. They always did. But he stood by his beliefs. He didn't want to just have sex with any and every woman that he passed by.

"You did good in standing your ground for what you believe," the boss said. "It's one thing that I really admire in you."

"Yeah, thanks," Pratt said. His eyes then fell back down to Eri. "How long will she sleep now that we've arrived here?"

"She should be waking up in about two hours," the boss said. "If you don't mind, I'd like you to make her something to eat. I'm sure she'll be hungry by then."

"Sure thing," Pratt said. He then moved her wheelchair closer to the bed so she could reach it if she woke up before any of them got back up here. After that, he left with his boss.

...

Eri opened her eyes two hours later. She closed them upon seeing nothing but a blurry blob. A small groan passed over her lips when she felt her head feeling heavy with fog. She reached up and placed her hand on her face, trying to piece together what happened to make her feel this way. A gasp left her mouth when she remembered what happened. Those strange men entered into her room and she could see her guards passed out on the floor. She pushed herself up and looked around. She knew she wasn't home anymore but also couldn't help but notice the room was very similar to hers. "What? Where...where am I?"

"You're currently in my hideout on the sea," a voice said.

Eri followed the sound of the voice. She found a man sitting in the room with her. He was sitting at the table with his right leg crossed over his left. His cowboy hat was over his eyes so she couldn't see his face until he lifted up and looked at her. She twitched when he did. His right eye was damaged, blinded from a scar that ran over it from his forehead down to his chin. His left eye was a piercing, hallow black color that eyed her like she was some price he had just won. "I'm glad you are awake now. Do you have a headache or anything? I only used a small amount of sedatives on you so you shouldn't have anything wrong. But if you do, let me know."

Eri remained silent.

"You're going to have to speak up at some point," he said. "We have a lot to talk about after all. And I'm not one for playing games or dragging things out. So let's get right down to it. I brought you here for a specific reason."

Eri swallowed. She wanted to ask what for, but it was obvious he was going to tell her. Part of her wanted to know why he took her. What was it that she had that he could possibly want? But then another part of her didn't want to know what he really wanted. Either way, she was about to find out.

"You have a very special gift, Miss Azure," he said. "And I'm fairly sure you're not even aware of it. Do you know what that gift is?"

Eri didn't reply.

"You have the ability to control the wind," he said.

"W-what?" Eri said. "That's...that's not possible. I have never eaten a Devil Fruit."

"It's not a Devil Fruit, Miss Azure," he said. "It's more of a talisman type thing. And you're wearing them right now." He tapped his right ear when she gave him a confused look. "Your earrings."

"What?" Eri whispered. Her hands lifted up and she touched her earrings with the tips of her fingers. "That's...that's not possible."

"Oh, but it is, I assure you. And do you know how I know?" Without waiting for her to answer, he reached into the breath pocket of his shirt. Pulling out a small book, he opened it and lifted out something before holding it up for her to see. It was a silver leaf. "This is a Silver Leaf. It can detect talismans and other objects that come from Anemone Island. The island that's hidden in the winds."

"An island hidden in the winds?" Eri asked. "You can't be serious. No such island exists. It's impossible."

"Oh, it's very possible, Miss Azure," he said releasing his hold on the leaf.

Eri all but gasped when the leaf flew from his fingers and over to her. She watched as it circled around her a couple times before landing on her shoulder and inched towards her earring. She was so focused on the leaf that she didn't even notice the man getting up from his chair and walking over to her until he reached out and plucked the leaf from her. She jumped, startled from his closeness.

He chuckled and pulled away without a word.

Eri swallowed, her pounding heart slowing in her chest. Finding her voice again, she asked, "Then why not just take the earrings and leave me alone?"

"I'm afraid these particular talismans don't work that way," he said as put the leaf back into the book and shoved it back into his pocket. "It was a gift giving to you. Only you can use it."

"You could have," Eri paused before continuing, "just killed me and took them."

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that either," he said. "The talismans from this island can only work when they are given to someone as a gift. They won't work if someone steals them or kills the person who wields them."

"That can't be true," Eri said despite a part of her believing his words. But why did she believe his words? She's always had these earrings, but she couldn't recall who gave them to her.

"Oh, it's true," he said. "You know it's true. You just haven't come to realize it just yet. You don't remember. But you will. In time you will remember everything."

"Remember what?" Eri asked.

"I can't tell you that," he said. "I can only tell you that I'm going to start you on how to use the talismans. Eventually, you'll remember what you have forgotten. Until then..." He paused. With a sudden swoop of his hands, he clasped a golden bracelet on each of her wrists. "These will prevent you from escaping once you've learned how to use your talismans."

Eri grabbed at the bracelets in an attempt to pull them off, but they wouldn't budge.

"Don't even bother to try and take them off," he said. "They are talismans too. Talismans that the wearer cannot take off themselves. And no one here is going to help you take them off. So be a good little girl and obey me. We won't have any problems as long as you do. And I get the feeling that you won't complain much. You, after all, aren't the type to tell people how you really feel."

"What?" Eri's eyes shot to his. How could this stranger possibly know that about her?

He chuckled. "Don't give me that look. You're easy to read. You've pretty much remained quiet this entire time instead of yelling at me or demanding me to let you go." A tap at the door stopped him from continuing. "Yes, come in."

"I've got her food," Pratt said when he stepped into the room. His eyes landed on Eri. "Hi, I'm Pratt. Are you hungry?"

Eri just blinked at him.

"She won't answer that," the boss said. "Just set it on the table. If she's hungry, she'll eat once we're gone."

"Okay." Pratt nodded. He walked the tray over to the table and sat it down before turning back to the other two in the room to quietly observe them.

"Well, we'll leave you alone now," the boss said. "I'm sure you have a lot to think about. We can talk more on this later after you've had a chance to process everything that's happened so far." He then lead Pratt towards the door. Before closing the door, he said, "From this point on you can just call me Boss. Until later, Miss Azure, enjoy your new home. You're going to be here for quite a while."

Eri watched as he closed the door. Once she heard their footsteps fading down the hall, she threw the cover off her and pulled herself into her wheelchair. Rushing over to the window, she pushed it open. After locking her wheels in place, she grabbed a hold of the windowsill and pulled her body onto it. Another gasp left her lips when she saw how high she was, five stories high with no way to escape. Her heart thudded hard against her chest when her eyes pulled away from the ground and around the rest of her surroundings. She saw nothing but rocks towering over the trees. Only a small sliver of ocean was visible to her from here. And there was no way anyone would be able to see this building from it. She was trapped here. She was still a prisoner. Only this time a prisoner of strangers with a bizarre story and no familiar surroundings. Her heart took a couple sharp beats in her chest. Her family. Her guards. Her arms weakened. She pushed herself back into her wheelchair before she could lose her grip and fall to the floor or out the window. What happened to her family and guards? Did those men kill them? Or did they just knock them out? When they woke up would they have any idea who took her? She didn't even know who took her. But someone did. Someone back home had to have seen something. Surely they did. Her heart broke. Even if they did, they wouldn't have anyway of knowing where she was. She could easily tell from what she saw of the island that no one would even know this house was here. She knew these men brought her here just for that purpose. They had her trapped. They had her as their prisoner.

She wanted to scream out in frustration but stopped when she remembered a way to get help. "Luffy!"

Pushing herself away from the window, she began to search the room for a pencil and paper. All she needed was one pencil and one piece of paper. But her hopes were soon dashed. There was nothing. Not even a small piece of scrap paper in this room. Her only hope of getting helped was shattered. Warm tears flowed over her eyelids and down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands and cried.


	3. An Adventure Begins P3

An Adventure Begins

Part Three

After an hour of crying, Eri lifted up from her hands. She brushed away her drying tears and exhaled. Her eyes landed on the meal that the man had brought her. It looked good, mashed potatoes with green beans, a roll, and a piece of fried fish with a glass of water. She wasn't hungry though. She was far too upset at the moment to even think about eating. But she was thirsty from all that crying. She rolled over to the table and reached for the glass. She paused before her fingers touched it. She wondered if it was possible for some kind of drug to be inside of the water. But the thought quickly passed away. The boss man said he needed her to use the talismans she was wearing. If he was speaking the truth then there was no way he would drug her.

She took the glass and gulped down the water.

Sitting the glass down she looked around the room again. She wondered if the door was locked. Probably not. This building wasn't build for a wheelchair after all. Even if she did leave this room, she had nowhere to go being so high up. She was trapped. Trapped unless someone could come save her. Perhaps they would. Surely by now her family noticed she was gone and were looking for her. Her eyes wondered back over to the window. But how were they going to find her here? On this island? She could tell this place was very well hidden with the way the rock formations were. If it wasn't they wouldn't have brought her here. The men who took her clearly planned far in advance for this. She felt her hope dwindling fast.

"No." She shook her head. "Stop thinking like that. It's going to be fine. Someone will save me. My family won't let this go. They're going to inform the Navy. I have to focus on there and now." She fingered one of her earrings. _He said these things are talismans. But how could they be and I never noticed? How do they even work?_ She lifted her wrists and looked at the golden bands around them. "I guess there's no way of testing the talismans out with these on. I mean, if that man was telling the truth."

Eri sighed. Her eyes drifted to the food on the table while her hands fell to her lap. She still wasn't hungry. She didn't even want to look at food. So with nothing else to do, she pushed herself back over to the window and just stared out of it, watching the rain beat down on the rock formations and the trees. "At least I'll still be able to smell the ocean from here. Luffy…if only I could get a hold of you. I know you would be able to get me out of this. Then maybe we could go on an adventure together. Wouldn't that be nice? Even if the adventure was a small one?"

Another sigh passed over her lips. She closed her eyes, hoping she could get her mind to take her far away from here. But it didn't work. She was far too worried, far too upset over this whole ordeal to escape from reality. She resigns to just watching it rain.

"You didn't eat."

Eri jumped at the unexpected voice. She whipped her eyes around to find that the man from before, Pratt, had returned. She narrowed her eyebrows at him in annoyance at bring her here in the first place, but also for sneaking up on her.

"Sorry," he said, looking sincere in his apology. The look only infuriated her. If he was going to feel so guilty about kidnapping her, why do it in the first place? She wanted to yell at him, but years of never being listen to keeps her mouth shut. "I didn't mean to scare you like that. I knocked a couple times but you never answered."

Eri's glared lightened up a bit. She looked past him and at the door. Was she really so lost in watching the rain that she didn't hear him knock? She brought her eyes back to him. She asked, "What do you want?"

"I just came to get the dishes." He gestures to the table. "But if you're not done, I can come back later."

"I'm done," Eri said. "Take it and leave."

She watched as Pratt only nodded. He stepped farther into the room, clearly keeping a respectful distance from her. She wondered again why he did this to her. From his actions, he didn't appear to be the type of guy that would kidnap someone. But then she had to remind herself that she didn't know this man. She could be just reading the situation wrong. Or he could just be trying to trick her. Or, possibly, she was correct in feeling he wasn't a bad man and was probably just being used by those other three he was with. She knew the boss man wasn't good at all. She could feel it. He was dangerous.

"I'm also here to deliver a message," he said, picking up the tray. "The boss isn't going to start you on training until tomorrow. He wants you to just rest for the night."

Eri just stared at him, narrowing her eyebrows again. He wasn't going to get a thank you from her. She really wants even sure what she should say here.

"I'll be up here occasionally to see if you need anything," Pratt said. "Would you like me to get you anything?"

"N-" Eri paused. There was something she could use. "I would like some paper and a pencil. I'm going to get bored sitting up here. I like to draw in times like these."

"I'm sorry," Pratt said. "I can't do that."

"Why?" Eri asked, desperately trying to hide her disappointment. If she had gotten that paper she could have sent a message to Luffy on where she was. Or at least give him some information on this island. She knew even just a little bit would help, or she hoped it would. She didn't know where her friend was. He could be weeks, months, away from her current location. But it was still worth a shot.

"The boss knows a lot more than you realize," Pratt said. "He knows you can send letters to people without using a mail bird."

Eri's eyes popped open. _He knows about that?! How? How could he possible know I can do that?!_ "I…I don't understand what you're saying."

"Please don't try to lie," Pratt said. "I know you can send out letters without using mail birds. He told us about your abilities. Or the abilities of your talismans."

"These were…" Eri's voice trailed off. Her hands seemingly lifted up on their own power and touched the little round orbs on her ears. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Was it really her earrings that send her letters to Luffy and brought Luffy's letters to her? "These were…"

"I don't know everything," Pratt said. "But I'm sure the boss will answer all of your questions eventually."

Eri barely heard him over the pounding in her head. She barely heard the click of the door when he left. Desperately she tried to remember. She tried to remember where she got the earrings. Someone gave them to her, didn't they? She didn't just find them, correct? But why couldn't she remember? Something like this would surely leave an impression on a person.

She spent the next several hours trying to remember, but she couldn't. Soon she found that the day had given away to night. The warm air of the day and been replaced with the cold night air. It made her shiver and pulled her from her scrambled thoughts. She closed the window then looked over at the bed. She wasn't really sleepy, but her body was a bit tired from sitting up for so long in her wheelchair. So she decided to go ahead and get ready for bed and lye down for a while. She moved over to her suitcase. A shiver ran up her spine upon thinking about how these men went through her clothes. She couldn't help but feel even more violated than she already was. But she did find they had gotten everything that she need but for her toothbrush and toothpaste. She sighed heavily. She really didn't want to go days without brushing her teeth. Just one day made her cringe and constantly run her tongue over her dirty teeth.

She wondered over to the bathroom, flipping on the light her eyes immediately dropped to the sink. Sitting on it was a still packaged toothbrush and toothpaste that also looked to be new. Maybe these men were a little bit more considerate than she had thought, just a little bit. She didn't dwell on it much. She was just glad she was going to be able to brush her teeth.

Her eyes drifted away from the sink to the rest of the bathroom. There was a hand railing on the wall near the toilet, the shower was fixed where she could easily roll up to the shower chair, and the small closet was full of toilet paper, towels, cleaning supplies, and washcloths that were easily within her reach. It made her wonder. This bathroom was either freshly redesigned or just hadn't been used in a very long time. She grumbled, "The boss really put a lot of thought into this, didn't he? But I wonder how he knew how and what all to do here. People who don't personally know someone wouldn't have done all of this. Does he have a family member or a friend that uses a wheelchair? Or did he just do his research on me very well and knew what to do ahead of time? Or did he coming into…"

Another shiver ran down her spine when the thought of this man having came into her house before to scope things out. It was highly possible for him to have done that. It was clear he could get into her parents house easily enough with so many bodyguards around. With or without gas he could have snuck into the party somehow. Or he could have worked there. There were some people she never seen before on their property. Her parents easily checked everyone's background that worked for them, but he could have still slipped under there radar. There were just so many possibilities. It was driving her crazy. She wanted answers. But knew she most likely wouldn't get them, or not all of them. All she could do was wait and see what happened tomorrow. So she used the facilities and went to bed. Spending hours rolling around on the bed trying not to think about her situation. Eventually, her body succumbed to tiredness and she fell into a dreamless, restless sleep.

The next morning she awoke to a knocking at the door. It was Pratt once more. "Hello? Miss Azure, I have your breakfast. Are you dressed? I'd like to give it to you before it gets cold. May I come in?"

Her eyebrow lifted upon her forehead. _Is he really this proper? This has to be an act._ "Yes, you can come in."

She watched from the bed as the door slowly opened and Pratt peaked inside cautiously. His eyes only landed on her for a few seconds before he pulled them away.

"Good morning." He stepped inside and instantly walked the tray over to the table. He turned around and faced her. "As soon as you're done eating the boss is going to start training you."

"Lucky me," Eri mumbled.

"I'll be back in about an hour to check on you," Pratt said before scurrying out of the room without a goodbye.

"Whatever," Eri said. She glanced over at the tray, pancakes, and two eggs with a glass of orange juice. "What? They can't afford bacon?" But she knew it didn't really matter. She never got bacon at home but for once even three months. She didn't even want to eat. However, since she didn't eat her meal yesterday, she was hungry now. She had no choice but to transfer into her wheelchair and roll over to the table. She ate it and found it to be rather good despite where it came from. "Well, at least I don't have to suffer from bad tasting health food. I guess that's something."

Once she finished up breakfast she decided to get changed immediately. So she gathered up a skirt and shirt from her bag and headed for the bathroom. When she came out, she rolled back over to the window to stare out of it until the boss man came to get her or whatever he was planning. And like Pratt said, an hour later he returned to get the tray. He said, "Good. You ate."

"What do you care?" Eri asked.

"I just do," Pratt replied, picking up the tray. "I know we kidnapped you and all, but I'm not that bad of a guy."

 _Yeah, you're a really prince charming. A girl could really fall for you,_ Eri thought. She turned her eyes back out the window.

"Well, I'll just take this and go," Pratt said. "The boss will be right up in a minute."

"Sure," Eri said. She watched him from his reflection in the window while his footsteps faded away from her. She remained staring out it until another knock came on the door about a minute later. She didn't have time to answer. The door opened and the boss was standing right there.

"Come with me," he said.

Eri turned to look at him but he was already out the door. She had no choice but to follow him. She needed answers after all. So she rolled herself out into the long hallway. She looked to her left and saw several doors. More bedrooms, she assumed. She looked to her right to see the staircase and even more doors beyond it. The boss was also standing near the staircase with a smirk on his lips. She knew he was just gloating over the fact she couldn't use the stairs. Anger flared up in her chest. But there was nothing she could do about it. She started to push herself over to him, but he walked towards her, making her stop. She stiffened up, thinking he was going to do something to her. Her body relaxed when he just walked passed her.

"Follow me," he said.

She did. She followed him down the hall. Three doors later, he opened one of the door and went inside. She followed him and found the hallway of bedrooms was just an illusion, at this on this side of the hallway. Inside she thought she was going to find another bedroom, but this room was more like a gym with several pillars in two rows where walls had been clearly taken down. He definitely has been planning this for a long, long time. She forced her attention to the rest of the room. Several balls and weights of different shapes and sizes were lying around the room on the floor. It was confusing. Why would they have these things all the way up here? And why would so many bedrooms be redesigned into one large room?

"This is where you'll be training," the boss said. "And you'll only be training when I'm in the room. Any other times you will be inside of your room and wearing those golden bracelets."

Eri gritted her teeth. So badly she wanted to lash out at this man for everything he had done to her. No matter how angry she got, her voice still came out controlled. "Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?"

"I already told you that the other night," he said. "But you were sleeping so I suppose I should tell you again. I want you to take me to Anemone."

"Where? Anemone?" Eri kneaded her eyebrows. "I've never heard of it before."

"It's a special island that's hidden in the wind," he said. "And I assure you, you have heard about it. You just don't remember it."

"Forgotten or not, it's impossible for an island to exist inside of the wind," Eri said. "Or hidden. Wind is clear."

"It can when magic is involved," he said. "And you are the only one who holds the type of magic I need to get there."

"I don't understand," Eri said. "What is it you want there?"

"Let's just say there is a special kind of treasure that resides on that island," Boss said. "I am one of the few who know about it. I assure you that if I hadn't found you first someone else would have. And they wouldn't have been as nice to you as I have been."

"Yeah, stealing me from home is really nice of you. My hero," Eri said. Her eyebrows shot up on her forehead. She had shocked herself by speaking so openly and sarcastically.

"I don't really see why you're complaining," Boss said, smirking at her. "You really didn't like being home in the first place. Why would you be so desperate to go back there? At least here no one will treat you like a breakable doll."

Eri's face burned hot. She wasn't sure if it was for anger at this man because he seemed to know her so well or if it was because he was speaking the truth. She didn't want to go back home. But she didn't want to be here either. Maybe if she just listened to him for now she could find out more about him and maybe escape using her powers or whatever they were. She really didn't have any options. Of course there was the dilemma of the golden bracelets she was forced to wear. She needed more information on them before she could try and plan an escape. She held up her wrists. "Let's say I believe you and I have some bizarre magic powers. How exactly does these bracelets keep me from using the power?"

"It's magic not power," Boss said. "And magic is often hard to explain so I won't be able to answer all of your questions, but the gold is a product that cuts off a person from their talisman. No one knows for sure how exactly this happens, but you can look at it like sea prism stone to Devil Fruit users only you don't become physically weak. It just cuts the connection like a wall or a container making you nothing more than an ordinary human."

"I am an ordinary human," Eri said.

"Not really." Boss chuckled. "This type of magic, not everyone can just use. You can't just go out, find a talisman, and use it. You have to gain favor from the talisman."

"Gain favor?" Eri asked.

"I'm not sure how to explain it, but you've heard stories of how fairies will disguise themselves as old beggars then when someone shows them an act of pure kindness they give them a gift?" Boss said.

"Yes." Eri nodded.

"It's kind of like that," Boss said.

"And how exactly am I suppose to get you to this island?" Eri asked. He didn't answer her. "What? Can't you tell me? I'm the one who has to do this after all."

"Well," he said, "I suppose I could tell you. You won't be able to use it right off. You'll have to get your control over the wind under control before you can possibly handle the next step." He paused in thought for a few seconds. "Well, basically, you kind of need a spell to activate the ability to get to the island."

"A spell?" Eri asked.

"It's not really the correct word to use. I'd say the words are more like a key rather than a spell," Boss said. "It pulls a special wind current to the user of the Wind Talismans. That wind current is the one you need to ride to get to Anemone."

"How is it special?" Eri asked.

"The wind current is silver and everyone can see it," Boss said.

"You can actually see this wind?" Eri tilted her head. She really didn't want to believe him, but something about all of this rang true in her ears. But why? What had she forgotten? And why couldn't remember anything about this?

"You can." He nodded. "But as I said, you need to have a decent amount of control over the wind before you're permitted to call upon the silver wind current and go to the island."

"How much control? And how will I know when the time is right?"

"It can vary. But the Wind Talismans will know when you're ready," Boss said. "And they'll let you know that it's time."

Eri swallowed. She hoped this would lead her to an escape plan. She agreed to this. "Fine. I'll do whatever you say. It's not like I have much choice in the matter."

"Such a good girl," Boss said.

"So take them off." Eri lifted her hands, her bracelets shimmering in the light as she moved.

"Not just yet," Boss said. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out that looked like curved wires.

"What is that?" Eri asked, watching as he pulled apart two pieces of half circles.

"Another talisman," he said. "But this one won't disconnect you from your talismans."

"Then what is it for?" Eri asked, getting the feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.

"You can call it the Muting Talisman. They're to keep you from talking while your training."

Eri gave him a confusing look. "Why would I need that?"

"Because of another part of your talismans," Boss said. "It allows your voice to travel on the wind. You would be able to alert someone. And while they still might not be able to find this place there's the huge chance that they can. And there are rumors you are connected to some powerful people in this world."

"Why bother telling me about that?" Eri said. "I didn't know about it. We could have done this without that thing."

"No." He shook his head. "Eventually you would have learned about that ability anyway."

"But how am I suppose to ask questions if I can't talk?" Eri narrowed her eyebrows at him again. "No one can learn anything without asking questions."

"That is true," Boss said. He nodded his head to a small table near the door that she didn't see when coming into this room. Sure enough there laid a notebook and a pencil. "But you can still write."

Eri's heart leaped at the sight of the paper. She was going to have access to paper and pencil. She _had_ access to paper _and_ a pencil. Perhaps she could use it and get a letter out to Luffy after all. Not wanting to seem so eager to accept the Muting Talisman, she continued to glare at him for several seconds. "Fine. Put it on and lets get this over with."

"My aren't you the eager one." Boss smiled.

"It's not like I have a choice," Eri said.

"Very well then. Let's get down to business." He walked over to her.

Eri tried her best not to tense or flinch at this man's closeness. She managed to sit still as he put the talisman around her head. She heard a small click from the pieces connecting. It was followed by a flash of light that had temperately blinded her. Out of panic she grabbed the talisman and tried to pull it off. She parted her lips to yell at him, but forget she couldn't speak. It only caused her to panic more.

"Relax, Miss Azure," Boss said. "The flash of light is normal. Your vision should be clearing up any second now. I'm not sure why the talisman flashes like that. I think it's a bonding type thing of some kind that inserts magic into your body to keep you from talking and unable to remove it."

 _Great. Another talisman that can't be removed by my own hands. Who created these things anyway?_ Eri wondered. She allowed her hands to drop back down to her lap. She waited while her eyes came back into focus. She blinked a few times, her vision now cleared. _Now what?_

"Let's get started. From this point on all you have to do is signal you want to write a question with your hands and I'll get the paper," Boss said. He then leaned over al little bit. His movements caused Eri to tense up again. He smirked at her reaction before removing the bracelets from her wrists. "Golden Cuffs Release."

Eri's heart sank. _Just great. He's not going to let me hold the paper for an extended period of time. And he'll probably keep a close eye on me while I'm writing. I'm not going to be able to send Luffy a message after all. At least I have the words needed to get these bracelets off. Now if I can only get someone to remove them for me._

"Getting started is going to be the trickiest part because you're going to have to feel out for the wind that's inside of the talismans you're wearing," Boss said.

Eri lifted an eyebrow at him. She was going to single for the paper but his chuckle made her stop.

"You don't need paper to write that question down," Boss said. "I can clearly see it in your eyes. The talismans you're wearing are the Wind Talismans. They hold some of the wind inside of them. Once you're able to sense the wind inside of them you'll be officially connected to them and the wind in the world. Technically, you already are connected to it. You've just forgotten how to use it since you've forgotten some of your memories. But don't worry. You should be able to get reconnected soon enough. It would be better if you had all of your memories, but since you don't we're going to have to basically start from scratch. There's a possibility that your memories will come back once you use your talismans again. It's just something we'll have to wait to see if it happens. You can proceed now."

Eri was still confused. She really didn't understand.

"The best way I can tell you how to start is to just picture the wind," Boss said. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against one of the poles in the room. "Imagine how it feels on our skin, blowing through you hair or the leaves, picture how it blows the clouds around, pulling in storms, pushing ships along the sea, stuff like that."

 _Okay. I'll try_ , Eri thought. Though she really didn't see how picturing the wind, something you literally couldn't see on its own, would help her get in touch with it. Still she closed her eyes and allowed the images he suggested flow into her mind. She pictured herself sitting outside, surrounded by trees, the ocean and far away from this place and her _home_. The day was warm, the sun was blazing overhead, and the wind was still. Slowly, in her mind, she saw a leaf move. One single leaf twitched.

…

The following day, four days later from when Eri was taken, Luffy was becoming more and more annoyed at not having reached Pax Island yet. He walked over to the railing. Placing his hands on it, he looked over the side. No sign of the island was insight yet. He growled in frustration. Pushing off the railing, he started pacing the deck.

"Come on. Hurry, hurry," Luffy said as continued to pace back and forth from one railing to the other.

"Will you relax, Luffy?" Brook said. "Pacing around like that is only going to make you more anxious."

"I don't care. I just want to be there already." Luffy looked over at Neo. The young blue haired woman was sitting at a small round table with Nami, Chopper, and Robin. She had twenty wind crystals out and the two ships were sailing along at a faster pace than they really should have been while expertly keeping the winds from hitting them so they could remain out on the deck. Still, it wasn't enough for him. He wanted to go faster. He wanted to be there already. "I don't mean to get pushy but can you go a little faster, Neo?"  
"I'm sorry, Luffy," Neo said, turning her eyes to him. "If I go any faster the sails will rip."

"We're going fast enough," Franky said, looking up at the wind filled sails.

"Just relax, Luffy," Nami said. "We should be arriving there soon."

"Besides, Neo's been doing this for hours," Chopper said, eyeing Neo carefully as she continue to control the wind. "If she puts herself out anymore…"

"I'm fine, Chopper," Neo said. "It's only been about three hours. And, as Nami has said, we should be about there. I can feel a large landmass coming closer and closer."

"Finally!" Luffy yelled. He bolted away from them and up the stairs to the figurehead where he sat and anxiously waited for the island to appear in his sight. While he sat there, he bobbed his knee constantly until a small speck he assumed was Pax appeared. "Pax!"

"We're there already?" Nami asked.

"Hey! Zoro!" Luffy called up to the Crow's Nest.

"Yeah? What is it?" Zoro asked, poking his head out the window.

"Look through the binoculars! Is that Pax Island?!" Luffy pointed towards the island.

"Hold on a second," Zoro said. He disappeared back inside of the Crow's Nest for a second then came back with the binoculars in hand. "Yeah! I see an island! I believe it is Pax!"

"Finally!" Luffy roared. "Let's go! Full speed ahead, Neo!"

"You idiot! We already told you we can't go any faster!" Chopper snapped.

Neo sighed and relaxed against the back of her chair.

"Are you all right, Neo?" Robin asked.

"Yeah," Neo said, rubbing her stomach tenderly. She could feel Law monitoring her closely through their bond. So she opened her words up to him so he could hear her. "I'm just a little tired. And so is baby."

 _'Be sure to take a nap as soon as you can.'_ Law thought to her.

"Be sure to take a nap as soon as you can," Chopper said to her at the same time Law did.

"Don't worry, you two. I will," Neo said with a small nod.

"Hold on a second," Usopp then said a few minutes later from the helm. They all turned their eyes up to the sniper. He was adjusting his goggles on his face and leaning slightly over the helm. "I think…"

"What is it, Usopp?" Brook asked from his place on the mast bench.

"I think the Navy's there," Usopp said.

"The Navy?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah." Usopp nodded. "There are three Navy ships docked at the island."

"Hey! You idiot moss head!" Sanji yelled up to the Crow's Nest. "You could have warned us the Navy was there!"

"Didn't see them!" Zoro snapped back. "If you wanted to know that, you come up here and look!"

"Too late!" Sanji growled.

"What would the Navy be here for?" Brook asked, lowering his teacup from his face.

"I'm more concerned about landing there now," Nami said. "Maybe we should-"

"No!" Luffy shouted, flinging himself back over to the group. "We have to go there! Eri's in trouble! I have to see her!"

"Calm down, Luffy," Nami said. "I was just going to say we need to find another area of the island to dock at. And we're going to probably need some disguises before we go onto the island. Or is her house in a place where we can easily sneak into it?"  
"Uh, well, her house is big," Luffy said. "She told me that it's away from the town."

"Sounds like she lives in a mansion," Robin said. "But we're going to need to know why the Navy's here. We should probably send a small recon team to check things out before we all rush onto the island."

"We'll need Law over here to plan that," Sanji said. "Neo, can you call him over here?"  
Neo nodded. _'Law, we have a problem. There are three Navy ships on the island. We need you over here to discuss plans on scoping the island out.'_

Law's blue film spread out over their ships quickly followed by the surgeon himself. He stroked Neo's hair, eying her tiredness closely.

"I'm fine, Law," Neo said.

"So who's going inland?" Chopper asked.

Sanji hummed before removing his cigarette and blowing the smoke out of his mouth. "I think Neo should be one of the ones who goes."

Law frowned at the suggestion. He didn't want his love going on the island after using her magic so much.

"I'm only suggesting that because she'll easily be able to move the team out," Sanji said. "I don't think we need to get into a fight with the Navy right now. Not at least until Luffy finds out if his friend is all right or not."

"Fine," Law said reluctantly. "But if she goes then I go too."

"I knew you'd say that." Sanji nodded.

"I'm going too!" Luffy announced.

"No," Sanji said. "It would be best if your loud mouth stays on the ship. If you go on the island we'll end up in a fight for sure."

"But Eri's _my_ friend!" Luffy said.

"We all know that," Nami said. "But you're way too loud for this. This mission needs stealth. We have to first see where the Navy is. They might just be taking a break on this island."

"There are no Navy bases in this area," Franky said.

"Then it's possible that them being here is just a coincident," Brook said.

"I think Robin should go," Nami said.

"Me?" Robin asked.

"You'll be able to listen in on conversations," Nami said. "I don't know why, I just feel like you should go."

"Fine with me." Robin nodded.

"Think that will be enough or should someone else go too?" Neo asked.

"That should do," Law said. "This is a recon mission after all."

"Then it's settled," Sanji said.

"Aw, but I want to go!" Luffy whined.

"Hey! We're getting closer to the island!" Usopp announced from the helm.

"Right! Just give me a second!" Nami said before rushing off to her navigation room. A few minutes later she came back with a map in her hand. "Let's see…it looks like we might be able to dock on the northwest side of the island."

"Northwest. Got it," Usopp said, turning the helm. No one else spoke as the sniper guided the ship along side the rocky shoreline of the island while Neo slowed her winds down. He carefully looked for a good spot for them to drop anchor. Eventually he found a good enough spot beside the rocky shoreline and just outside of the forest. "This should be a good enough place. The trees will give us cover."

"Good job, Usopp," Nami said, rolling up her map. "Now all we have to do is-"

"Gum Gum Rocket!" Luffy's voice shouted out.

"That idiot!" Nami growled as her captain flung himself onto the island. "Didn't he listen to the plan at all?!"

"Does he ever?" Chopper asked.

"We might as well follow after him," Neo said. "We'll get no where standing around here."

Law nodded then looked at Sanji. "Be sure to tell my crew where we are if they ask."

"Of course." Sanji nodded.

"Let's go then," Robin said.

"Yeah, before Luffy blows our cover," Usopp said.

"You sure you're not too tired?" Law asked Neo.

"It'll be a short trip. Besides you can feel I'm just fine," Neo said. Gathering her winds around their small group, she lifted them into the air and followed after Luffy. Soon they caught up with the rogue captain and she lifted him into the air with them. "Luffy, you really shouldn't have ran off like that."

"I'm sorry, Neo," Luffy said. "I'm just really worried about Eri."

"I know you are," Neo said. "Just be a little bit more patient. We're about to see her."

"Yeah." Luffy nodded, but a feeling of doubt settled in his chest.

"You sure you know where she lives?" Law asked a few minutes later when all they were seeing was still trees.

"Yes." Luffy nodded. "She said she lives outside of the town. We should be getting close."

"Says the one who's never been to this island," Law grumbled.

"Lets go above the trees," Neo suggested. "We're not going to see anything inside of this thick forest."

"Why don't you just ask that squirrel over there?" Robin asked.

"Huh?" Neo looked at Robin then followed her finger in the direction she was pointing. "I guess that would work." She flew them over to the squirrel that was sitting calmly on a tree branch. "Hello, would you mind if I asked you something? We're looking for a friend of Luffy's here. She's…uh…"

"Blonde, her name is Eri, and she's in a wheelchair," Luffy said. "She lives in a very big house. Her family's like really popular around here or something."

"She's blonde, in a wheelchair, and her name is…that's correct, Eri. We're close? Okay, thanks a lot," Neo said.

"Well?" Luffy asked.

"It's just over there," Neo said, pointing to her right. "We're about thirty yards from the house. The squirrel said he goes there a lot because she often feeds him and his friends. He also said that there's a bunch of people over there right now."

"Bunch of people?" Robin asked. "Do you think they're having a party?"  
"There's only one way to know for sure," Law said. Neo took her cue and flew them in the right direction. And sure enough within thirty yards they came upon a large white mansion.

"Wow! This place is huge!" Luffy said, his eyes wondering up the side of the house to a balcony, as they remained tucked behind the tree leaves. "I know Eri said she lived in a big house but she never said it was this big!"

"Who are her parents?" Robin said. "They must be rich to own this kind of house."

"I don't know," Luffy said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Law asked.

"I don't really remember," Luffy said with a big smile.

Law glared at him. "She's your friend."

"I know." Luffy nod.

"I guess they were just useless bits of information to him," Neo said. "It doesn't really matter. It's not like we're going to get to know her parents"

"Yeah! So let's just go!" Luffy said.

"Hold on," Robin said before Neo could move them. She crossed her arms over her chest, sprouting an eye on the front of the house. "I see something. There are a lot of Navy soldiers here."

"The Navy's at _this_ house?" Law asked.

"Yeah." Robin nodded. "And I don't think it's for a party. They don't look to happy. They look really annoyed."

"We need to get inside and see what's going on," Law said. He looked at Robin who nodded in understanding before looking at Neo. "Neo, hold tightly onto Straw Hat."

"Yeah." Neo nodded.

"Huh? What for?" Luffy asked.

"To keep you from running inside," Law said. "We don't need to fight the Navy right now."

"Fine," Luffy said, crossing his arms in an annoyed huff.

Robin closed her eyes. She sprouted her eyes and ears inside of the house until she found the correct room. Several Navy soldiers were standing around the living room along with two other people she assumed were Eri's parents. She remained quiet as she listened in on their conversation.

…

"I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Azure. We're doing our best to find your daughter, but without any clues to go on, we don't have much hope," a Navy captain said.

"You must try harder!" Mrs. Azure snapped. "We can't allow this to continue! She's very fragile! She's sick! She needs to be home with us!"

"Honey, please, just calm down," Mr. Azure said, placing his arms around his wife, he pulled her into his body. "Please, forgive her. But she speaks the truth. Our daughter is very fragile. We're afraid of what might happen to her while she's in _their_ hands."

"Ma'am, we are doing our best," the captain said. "But we are a little out of our league here. Like I said, we don't have any clues. No one here saw anything because of the gas that knocked everyone out. Whoever took your daughter was very thorough in what they were doing. My men are asking around the town now to see if anyone possibly saw anything the night she was taken or even before that."

…

"Well?" Luffy asked. He reached out to grab Robin's shoulders but Neo held him back so he couldn't touch her. "What's going on? Have you found Eri yet? Is she all right? Is she hurt?"  
"Calm down, Straw Hat," Law said. "Nico will tell us when she has information to tell us."

…

"We just need more information," the captain said. "You two are fairly well known. And you have gathered quiet a lot of money in your time. Surely someone you know just got jealous and is holding your daughter for ransom."

"Ransom?!" Mrs. Azure snapped. "If it was a ransom thing then we would have already gotten their demands by now! It has nothing to do with money! It's his entire fault! _He_ did this! It has to be _him_!"

"Him, who?" the captain asked.

"No one," Mr. Azure said, tightening his hold on his wife as she cried. "She's just hysterical. We really don't know anyone who would do this to our daughter."

"Yes, forgive me," Mrs. Azure said. "I don't know what I'm saying. I'm just tired. I haven't slept much these past few days. It's been four days since she's been taken. You have no idea how hard this is for me. My baby is missing and there's nothing I can do for her. I'm going to go lie down for a while."

"Yes, of course," the captain said as the woman quickly left the room. "Sir, I promise we're doing everything we can. Some of my men are still in town trying their best to get answers. If someone saw something, they'll find them. It's just going to take time."

"Yes, of course," Mr. Azure said, but his eyes clearly held the truth. He didn't really believe them at all.

"We'll go join my men right now. I'll let you know as soon as we find something," the captain said. He tipped his hat then headed out of the room with his soldiers following close behind.

"Uh, Captain?" one of the soldiers spoke up cautiously. "I don't mean to sound insensitive to this case, but why are we on it? It's just one girl that was taken. Why do we have three battle ships here to look for one girl?"

"I don't know," the captain said. "All I got was the orders to find this girl from someone high up. So let's just get this over with."

…

Robin lowered her arms and looked at her friends.

"Well?" Luffy asked.

"Your friend has been kidnapped," Robin said.

"What?!" Luffy shouted. "Why?! By who?! When?!"

"She was taken four days ago," Robin said. "And, apparently, no one knows by who or why because they used gas to knock everyone out. The Navy doesn't even know why they have been assigned to find her."

"The Navy is here to find one missing girl but they don't know why?" Law said.

"That's correct," Robin said with a nod.

"We have to go find her!" Luffy said.

"But how?" Neo said. "No one knows anything. And she was taken four days ago. They have a big lead on us."

"So what?!" Luffy said. "We can still find them! This has to be why my letter didn't go to her!"

"What does your letter have to do with anything?" Law asked.

"I told you! Our letters just automatically go to each other!" Luffy said. "If she was taken then she was probably knocked out! I'm going to hurt whoever took her!"

"If only we could find some clues as to who took her," Robin said.

"Hey!" a voice shouted. They all looked down to see an angry looking young blonde haired man glaring up at them. "What are you all doing here?! Who are you?!"

"Hold on! We're friends!" Luffy said. "Neo, lower us down!"

"Uh." Neo looked at Law. When he nodded, she lowered them to the ground.

"We're friend of Eri's! We're here to help find her!" Luffy said.

"Wait! You're Straw Hat Luffy!" The young man's glare intensified as he pointed accusingly at Luffy.

"That's right," Luffy said. "I'm Eri's friend. And we-"

"You're not her friend!" he snapped. "You stay away from my sister!"

"You're Eri's brother?" Robin asked. "Shouldn't you be inside with your family?"

"Shut up, pirate! I have been inside! I just couldn't take sitting there doing nothing!" he said.

"Eri's brother?" Luffy crossed his arms. "She's mentioned you before, but I don't remember your name."

"It's Skylar, you ignorant twit!" Skylar growled. "Just leave here at once!"

"But we want to help fine her!" Luffy said.

"I don't care!" Skylar said. "There's nothing anyone can do for her!"

"Why would you say that?" Law asked.

"Uh." Skylar flinched.

"You know, I noticed your parents were also hiding something from the Navy," Robin said. "It seems your family has a secret that you don't want anyone to know about."

"Shut up!" Skylar hissed. "You know nothing about us, _pirate_!"

"Thank you. That little outburst confirms my suspicious," Robin said.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway," Skylar said, his glare fading away. "No one knows where she is. Whoever took her left nothing behind."

" _She's on an island two and a half days from here."_

"Huh?" Luffy blinked. "Who said that?"

"Who said what?" Neo asked.

"Someone said she's on an island two and a half days from here," Luffy said.

"No one said that," Law said.

"Yes, they did. I heard them," Luffy insisted.

"My, my, you've suddenly gone so pale, Skylar," Robin said, bring the pirates attention back to the young blonde haired man. "Do you know something about this voice Luffy says he heard?"

"N-no. I know nothing," Skylar said as he bolted away from them. "And I'm telling the Navy that you pirates are here."

"Should we stop him?" Neo asked as they watched the young man run off towards the house.

"There's no point," Law said. "Let's just get back to the ships before he alerts the Navy. We can get ahead of them before they even get on their ships."

"All right." Neo gathered her winds back around them. She lifted then up and flew them back to their ships as quickly as she could. "So what now?"

"We go after her!" Luffy said.

"Go after who?" Usopp asked.

"We found out that Luffy's friend has been kidnapped," Robin said before filling them in on everything. Shortly after that the two ships were pulling away from the island with Neo pushing them along with her winds until they were far enough away from the Navy.

"That's insane," Nami said. "It seems your feeling was correct after all."

"But how do we know which direction to go now?" Brook asked.

"Just go!" Luffy said.

"Idiot! We can't just run off and look for your friend!" Sanji whacked Luffy over the head. "We could move in the opposite direction your friend is in!"

"But…" Luffy started. He had nothing else to say. Sanji was correct. He clenched his fists. Anger bubbled up inside of him at feeling useless again. He went through all the training for two years only to end up useless to a friend of his again.

" _Follow the wind."_

"Huh? Who said that?" Luffy looked around.

"Who said what?" Chopper asked.

"Follow the wind," Luffy said. "Wait…it was the same voice that spoke before. We have to follow the wind to get to Eri."

"Are you sure about that, Luffy?" Usopp asked. "Following the wind doesn't exactly seem like a plan, or a good idea."

"I don't care!" Luffy said. "We're following the wind! Captain's orders!"


	4. An Adventure Begins P4

An Adventure Begins

Part Four

Eri shivered when she felt her loose hair brushed against her skin. She slowly opened her eyes. A small gasped passed over her lips when she saw her hair and the loose ends of their clothing were floating in the wind that she had created. She gave him a look of disbelief. This wasn't possible. This couldn't actually be happening. Could it?

"Believe it," Boss said. "This is possible. And you're doing it."

Eri shook her head. She just couldn't get her mind wrapped around the fact that she had control over the wind. She swayed in her chair, her head buzzing with disbelief and dizziness. She leaned back in her chair as the wind vanished from the room. Her stomach churned. She wasn't sure why but she suddenly felt very sick about all of this. She was scared. She wanted nothing to do with it. She wanted to leave this place. She wanted Luffy to come and save her from this.

"And so much more," Boss said.

Eri gave him another look of questions. Despite wanting nothing to do with this, a small part of her couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that.

"It doesn't matter," Boss said. "You'll eventually learn."

Eri looked up at him. She swallowed when he reached into his pocket. She wasn't sure what she was expecting for him to pull out. But it certainly wasn't the ball he tossed down on the floor. Forgetting her sickness, she watched it questioningly as it rolled to a stop about two feet in front of her.

"This is your first training lesson," Boss said. "You are to float this ball around the room without hitting anything."

Eri lifted an eyebrow in confusion. Was this all he really wanted her to do?

"Hurry up now," Boss said. "We don't have all day."

Eri shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She didn't want to do this. But what choice did she have? She nodded then pointed to the ball and gave him a shrug in hopes he would understand her.  
"Just concentrate on the wind. Connect with it," Boss said. "You're its master. It has to obey your commands."

Eri swallowed. She didn't like being called master of anything. She didn't like the idea of controlling others. She's had that done far too much to herself by others. But she knew she didn't have any choice but to obey what this man was telling her. She just wished she knew the point of this since she was stuck here. And she knew that wouldn't happen. It was crystal clear that this guy wasn't going to tell her everything at once. He was just going to give her tiny bits and pieces when he felt like they were need. There had to be a reason for him to want to go to this island in the wind. But what was it? What was there that he really wanted so badly that he had to kidnap her? Money? She knew that was a high possibility when kidnapped. It was something a lot of men and women did. The only other reasons she could think of were darker, more physical. Her body shivered at the thoughts of violation that could possibly happen to her. She hoped and prayed that her didn't end up dead somewhere in the dark depths of some forest. Or thrown in the sea were creatures could devour her cold, lifeless body. Wasn't that a high possibility once she took him to this island? She would have served her purpose so why would they keep her alive?

Fear gripped her chest. Her heart and blood turned ice cold, but not completely because of these strange men. There was something else that was causing her to feel all of this fear. She just couldn't figure out what it was. All she knew was she had to get out of here. She had to think of a plan and get out of here before they killed her. But how could she possibly do that? How can she get out of here when the only way she had to fight was blocked from her? Would she possibly be able to charm one of the men into giving her some paper and releasing her from the bracelets that separated her from her wind abilities? She could get a letter to Luffy then. She closed her eyes and took a few slow breaths to keep herself from crying. She knew that wouldn't work at all. Going by what happened yesterday, the men weren't going to stick around her long enough for her to appeal to their softer side, assuming they have one. Maybe she could escape when Boss released her from these confining talismans so she could call upon the island or whatever she was suppose to do. That looked to be her only chance to escape.

"Stop daydreaming and get to work!" Boss snapped.

Eri jumped at Boss's anger. In being startled, she somehow released strong gust of wind from the world around them. It shot her backwards. She felt her wheelchair crashing into the wall before feeling her body fly forward. She groaned when her body hit the hard ground. She felt something, some bone inside of her snap. She felt searing pain in both her head and her back. She cried out, hot tears pouring down her cheeks, and curled into a ball. Her head buzzed with sounds of several people speaking in incoherent mumbles. She opened her eyes to a blinding white light. Dark figures passed between her eyes and the light. The movement made her head spin and her stomach lurch. She was going to be sick. She could feel her stomach about to give up what she had eaten earlier.

Then she heard laughter.

All the incoherent words she was hearing were replaced with someone laughing. She opened her eyes. Blinking in confusion she stared at the wall she was facing. There was no white light, no shadow figures walking between it and herself. There was just the wall and her wheelchair. There was no other pain but for the light throbbing in her right elbow where she hit the ground and the shakiness that wracked her entire body, other than that she wasn't hurt at all. Confused, she reached up and touched her wetness on her cheek. At least she really was crying. She hadn't imagined that part at all. So why had she imagined all the other pain, lights, and shadows?

"That was beautiful!" Boss said.

Eri gritted her teeth when he started clapping in addition to his laughter. Her chest filled up with anger at him. He was supposed to protect her. Her eyes shot open at her own thoughts. She had no idea why she thought this man was suppose to protect her. He was a complete stranger. A stranger that had kidnapped her from her home and was forcing her to do something she didn't want to do.

"Get up!" She heard the man snapped. "You're not hurt!"

Eri didn't want to. She didn't want to get up at all. But he was correct in saying that she wasn't hurt. She had only imagined it for some reason. She brushed off her tears before pulling her wheelchair closer to her. She locked it into place before unlocking and pushing the feet rests out of her way. Her body was still shaking from the fall but it had slowed down enough for her to pull herself off the floor. Grabbing the back, she pulled herself up into the chair. Once settled in the seat she lifted up her right leg and put the footrest back in place then did the same with her left leg. She exhaled, her pounding heart now almost back to normal.

"Fly the ball," Boss said. "I won't tell you again."

"Fine," Eri mumbled through her silenced voice. She dropped her eyes to the blue ball on the ground. The crippling fear from before returned. It gripped her mind and replayed her hitting the ground and wall over and over. Flashes of pain shot through her body. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. She had no reason to be afraid. She didn't get hurt at all. She knew the wind really couldn't hurt her, especially if she was in control. Still, she didn't want to do this. She didn't want to mess with the wind. Wind was a dangerous element to control. She wanted to just leave. She wanted to go find Luffy. She wanted to be free from all of this. She wrapped her arms around her shivering body. She shook her head. Her lips saying, "I…I can't do this."

"What are you mumbling about?" Boss asked.

Eri pointed to the paper. She watched as he grabbed it and handed it to her. She scribbled her words down and showed it to him. She wrote: I can't do this. I don't want to get hurt.

"You're not going to get hurt," Boss said, almost tenderly. It caught her off guard. Her fears dropped away from her. She looked up at him with shock and confusion rolling through her eyes. Through his one good eye, she could see tenderness in it. It was just a quick flash though. Once he realized she was looking at him his cold, expressionless eye had returned. He ripped the notebook away from her. "What are you looking at?! Just float the blasted ball! You're being childish! The wind can't hurt you because you're the one in control of it! Or you will be if you'd stop being such a coward! Back to work!"

Eri exhaled. She had no idea how she could possibly think this man had an ounce of tenderness in him. He was nothing but a hateful, selfish jerk looking for an easy way to get rich, probably. She still had no idea what this island held after all. She forced herself to let it go. There was nothing she could do about it.

She shifted her focus back to the wind. When she felt the wind teasing her skin, she became cold again. A blurry image flashed through her brain. The image was familiar to her, but she couldn't place why it was. All she knew was she didn't want to do this. She didn't want to control the wind. She feared the wind.

Still, she pushed forward. She had no idea what this man would do to her if she didn't try to float the ball. Maybe if she did she could go back to her room. So she forced the blurry image and her fears as far away from her as she possibly could. She looked down and focused on the ball. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she formed a mental picture of the ball lifting off the ground. Her eyebrow lifted when the ball shifted on the floor. The movement caused her to shiver. Her fear was pushing its way back up to the surface. She refused to let it, or she tried to. It seemed no matter how hard she tried her fear just kept pushing back to the surface. She tried to focus harder on the ball and caused it to roll closer to her.

She exhaled and shook her head. That wasn't what she was supposed to do. She was supposed to float it. It should have been such a hard task. She could feel the wind around her. She could feel the wind wanting to obey her, or her talismans. She wasn't really quite sure which it was. So she tried again. Closing her eyes, she imagined the ball lifting off the ground. She kept her eyes closed for several seconds before peaking through one eyelid. Her other eye popped open when she saw she had the ball floating six inches off the ground. Blurry images filled her mind as fear and an icy cold grip grabbed her chest. The wind picked up into an immediate gale. The ball and her wheelchair shot towards the wall. The paper that was sitting on the table flew off and hit the floor.

Eri gasped, grabbed her wheels, and banished the wind before she could hit the wall again. A sharp whistle ran through her head. Her vision blurred as she watched the blue ball bounce across the floor in front of her. She felt herself fall. Then everything went black.

…

Boss, holding his cowboy hat to his head, dug his boots into the floor when Eri's wind picked up. He tried to hold his ground, but the wind was far too strong. He felt his boots sliding across the floor before his body lifted into the air and his hat flew off. The air in his lungs was forced out when he landed on the ground. His body bounced once before rolling to a stop. Still sliding across the floor, he did what he could to keep himself from flying off again. Then, suddenly, the wind stopped. He looked up. The girl was still in her chair. Her face was pale, her eyes were dull and hollow. She looked like she was about to pass out. Even from several yards away he could see that her entire body was trembling. He knew it wouldn't be long before she passed out.

Scrambling to his feet, he dashed over to her. Grabbing her shoulders before she could fall out of her chair, he laid her back against it. A heavy exhale left his body. He was expecting some trouble with her and her training but he didn't think it was going to be this bad. Staring down at her, noticing that the outbursts of wind had messed her hair up quite a bit. He reached for a strand of her loose locks but instantly pulled back when the door busted open and his three subordinates ran in.

"Boss!" Jaq said.

"Are you all right?" Mitch added. "We heard a bang."

"Is she all right?" Pratt asked, holding the book he was carrying out to the girl.

"Yes," Boss said. He removed the silencing talisman from her and put the bracelets back on her wrists. He then turned away from her. Walking over to where his hat was laying, he picked it up off the floor, and placed it back on his head. "Pratt, take her to her room. We're done for the day."

"That's it?" Mitch said. "You haven't been in here but for about six minutes."

"I say it's over," Boss said. "There's no telling when she'll actually wake up. She's done enough for now. So don't question me about this."

"You're the boss." Mitch shrugged.

Boss adjusted his hat. He glanced back over to Eri and Pratt. The man was making sure she was secure in her chair. He scoffed and headed out of the room with Jaq and Mitch following after him.

…

Pratt sighed upon seeing Eri in her unconscious state. He didn't like seeing her like this. He wasn't sure what exactly caused her to black out. He wanted to ask Boss about it but knew it wouldn't do any good. So he quietly checked to make sure she was in a secure position before stepping behind her wheelchair. He took the handles and wheeled her out of the room. By the time he got out in the hall, the other men were nowhere in sight. Most likely they were heading down the stairs to the ground floor where they would get lost in their drinking or whatever they felt like doing.

He turned into her room. Gliding her up next to the bed, he locked in her wheels, placed his book on the bed, and then picked her up. Gently, he laid her down then repositioned her wheelchair so she could get in it when she woke up. He reclaimed his book before heading for the door. About half way to it his legs suddenly paused. His eyes drifted back to Eri. For whatever reason, he felt like he should stay with her. So he walked over and sat down at the table. He watched her sleep for a while before he started to feel like a creep watching his next victim before striking. Opening his book he started reading to pass the time.

…

 _Eri blinked and stared into the darkness that surrounded her. She had no clue where she was. All she saw was the darkness. Everything was silent. She continued to stare out into the darkness until she realized that her wheelchair was gone. Looking down she found that she was standing on her own two feet again. She tilted her head when she noticed that her feet were a lot smaller than they should have been. But she didn't really care. She was back on her feet. She could dance again._

 _And she did._

 _Throwing one hand into the air, she spun on her toes. Her moves were fluid. She felt like she had never stopped dancing. She felt like her being in a wheelchair was nothing but a dream. She was free once again. Free to dance all she pleased. And she did. Her body flowed gracefully through the_ _arabesque, développé, grande rond de jambe, and so many more moves, her dress flowing around her like soft flower petals being blown on the wind. Her heart pounding with excitement from feeling so free._

 _Opening her eyes she found that the darkness had been replaced with a lush green field full of colorful butterflies and flowers. She ran out into the field. Her body automatically doing all kinds of dances moves while the butterflies flittered their winds and took off around her. She felt their silky wings brush across her bare arms. She giggled. Her joyous laughter rising up with the wind and the butterflies as they both disappeared into the bright blue sky._

 _"Eri, did you know you could fly?"_

 _"Huh?" Eri turned and looked up to the voice. Standing with her were two people. She knew them. She couldn't see their faces, but she knew they weren't going to hurt her. "What do you mean?"_

 _"You are very gifted, Little Dancer," the younger of the two said._

 _"What do you mean?" Eri asked._

 _"You have been chosen to ride the wind," the older one said._

 _"Ride the wind?" Eri tilted her head._

 _"You love dancing, do you not?" the older one asked._

 _"Of course I do, Uncle!" Eri said. She spun around for him. "See?! I love dancing so much! I always feel so free! I feel like I'm flying when I dance!"_

 _"That's good to hear," Uncle said. "But you literally can fly."_

 _"I don't understand," Eri said. She stopped spinning and turned back to the two._

 _"These." The younger one reached out and touched the nubs that were stuck into her earlobes. "These can help you fly."_

 _"My gift?" Eri reached up and touched the earrings. "These can make me fly?"_

 _"Indeed, Little Dancer." He nodded. "And they can take you to a very special island that hidden in the wind."_

 _Eri gasped. Her eyes lit up with excitement. "There's an island hidden in the wind?"_

 _"There is," Uncle said. He knelt down on the ground. "And if you want, I can teach you how to use this gift so you can fly and go to that island."_

 _"What kind of island is it?" Eri asked._

 _"An island that floats on the wind," Uncle said. "You can see out into the world but the world can't see inside of the wind."_

 _"That's amazing!" Eri squealed._

 _"And that's not even the most amazing part," Uncle said._

 _"Then what is?" Eri rushed to his lap. She down and stared up at him like he was feeding her sugar. "Tell me!"_

 _"Okay, okay," Uncle said. "The most amazing part is the little people that live there."_

 _"Little people?" Eri asked. "Do you mean like fairies?"  
"Something like that." Uncle nodded. "And they love to dance just as much as you do."_

 _"They do?" Eri's eyes widened._

 _"If you learn out to fly you'll be able to see them," the younger one said._

 _"I want to see them!" Eri announced. She jumped up off Uncle's lap and spun around a few times. "Please! Teach me how to fly! I want to control the wind!"_

 _"Okay, we can do that," Uncle said as he stood up. "But you have to promise me that you'll take us with you."_

 _"Of course I will!" Eri said. "Why woudn't I?"_

 _"Some people might not want you to go there," Uncle said._

 _"Some will think it's too dangerous for you," the younger one added._

 _"But it's not," Eri insisted. "I'll be with you two. And if I can control the wind then I'll be very powerful."_

 _"Indeed you will," Uncle said._

 _"So tell me what I should do," Eri said. She straightened her back and held her arms at her sides."_

 _"Listen for the wind," Uncle said. "Feel out for it. Once you have it, connect yourself with it."_

 _"I'm not sure I understand," Eri said. "How can you connect with the wind?"_

 _"You'll know what to do when you feel it," Uncle said. "Just give it a try."_

 _"Okay!" Eri nodded. She looked down at the ground and tried to concentrate. Instead, feeling so silly about what she was suppose to do, she giggled._

 _"Little Dancer," the younger one said, crossing their arms over their chest. "You're not focusing."_

 _"I'm sorry, Bunny," Eri said. "This is just harder than I thought it was."_

 _"I can understand." Bunny nodded. "But this is serious. You do want to go to the island in the wind, don't you?"_

 _"I do! I do!" Eri nodded. "I'll focus! I promise!"_

 _"Then proceed," Bunny said._

 _"Yeah!" Eri closed her eyes. Focusing on the world around her, she listened and felt for the wind. At first, she didn't feel anything. She did still feel silly but that was it. Then she felt it. A cool breeze brushed across her arms._

 _'Are you there?' a voice asked._

 _'I'm here,' Eri thought back to the voice. 'Who are you?'_

 _'I am Celestial,' the voice said. 'I'm bit surprised that you can hear me,' Celestial said._

 _'Why?' Eri asked._

 _'It's been many years since someone heard our voices,' Celestial said._

 _'There's more than one of you?' Eri asked._

 _'Indeed, Little Wind,' Celestial said. 'We accept you as the wielder of the Wind Talismans.'_

 _'The talismans are real?' Eri asked._

 _'Indeed, they are,' Celestial said._

 _'You live on the island in the wind, don't you?' Eri asked._

 _'We do,' Celestial said. 'And we are waiting for you to come see us.'_

 _'You're waiting for me? I can really come there?' Eri bounced up and down on her feet. 'I want to come now!'_

 _'I'm afraid you cannot,' Celestial said._

 _'Why?' Eri stopped bouncing. Her lips curled down into a frown._

 _'You're not strong enough yet,' Celestial explained. 'It will take time for you to get good enough to control the Silver Wind that will bring you here.'_

 _'How long do I have to wait?' Eri asked._

 _'You are just beginning. You are only a zephyr,' Celestial said._

 _'What's a zephyr?"_

 _'It's a small wind,' Celestial said. 'You must be able to with stand hurricane winds to come here. It could take you years to get that much control.'_

 _'I see.' Eri turned her watering eyes down to the ground._

 _'Do not lose hope, my little one,' Celestial said. 'I promise that you will one day come here. And until that day I will be waiting for your arrival.'_

 _'Okay! I'll be patient!'_

 _'You're a very good girl,' Celestial said. 'Above all you must remember this, you hold a great magic right now. It is something that you cannot force. It has to come naturally. If you try to come here when you're not ready, you could end up hurting yourself. Promise me you will not get in a hurry to come here.'_

 _'Yes, I promise,' Eri said._

 _'Then I shall leave you now,' Celestial said, her voice fading farther and farther away with each word._

 _"Wait! Don't go!' Eri ran towards Celestial's fading voice. 'Please, don't go!'_

 _'Do not worry, Sweet Zephyr," Celestial said. 'While you will not be able to see me I will always be watching over you. It's time for you to go now.'_

 _'Okay,' Eri said. She stopped trying to follow the voice._

 _"Eri?"_

 _"Huh?" Eri opened her eyes to Uncle and Bunny watching her. "What happened?"_

 _"You were talking to someone," Bunny said._

 _"I was! Her name is Celestial! She's waiting on the island for me!" Eri told them. "I can't wait to get there! I have to train!"_

 _"What else did she tell you?" Uncle asked._

 _"That I'll be able to see her when I'm ready and that I shouldn't push my magic," Eri said. "I'm not strong enough yet to get to the island."_

 _"Then we better start training again right now," Uncle said._

 _"Yeah!" Eri nodded. She closed her eyes. Feeling out for the wind, she found it. She could feel it blowing over the island. It appeared to notice her silent beckon and floated towards her. She smiled. The wind wrapped around her like a blanket. It was calm and soothing. She felt like she could ride it thousands of times around the world. She wanted to ride the wind around the world. This suddenly felt so natural to her. She had to learn to do more._

 _Suddenly, the peaceful breeze erupted into a gale. Deep, threatening rumbles of thunder rolled through the dark, lightning streaked clouds above. Eri shivered. The wind and rain was cold on her skin. This wasn't correct. This wind wasn't what she was use to. What had happened?_

 _"You're not focusing, Eri!" a voice shouted over a rumble of thunder._

 _"B-Bunny?" Eri called out. She crossed her arm over her eyes to shield them from the rain and look for the two men she was with. "Uncle? Where are you?"_

 _"What are you doing, Eri?! You're supposed to be controlling this wind and taking us to Anemone! Get control of this wind! Now!"_

 _"I'm trying!" Eri said, tears streaming down her cheeks._

 _"Take us to Anemone!"_

 _"What are you waiting for?! You've had plenty of time to get this right!"_

 _"But Celestial told me-" Eri felt her cheek sting and grow warm. Her body was flying through the air, but not under her control. She hit the ground hard. Crying, she held her stinging cheek. "I don't want to do this!"_

 _"You want to go see her, don't you?!"_

 _"Yes! But she said I wasn't ready!" Eri cried._

 _"She doesn't know you!"_

 _"Please stop!" Eri begged._

 _"Do it now! Take us to Anemone! I'm tired of waiting! You've trained enough!"_

 _"Just stop it!" Eri screamed. The winds picked up. Howling over the rumbling thunder, it picked her up. She was flung backwards. A sharp pain shot through her back. A scream flew out of her lips, but was silenced from a sharp crack of thunder._

 _The world faded._

" _Move it! We have an emergency here!"_

" _We need blood!"_

" _Get the IV ready!"_

" _Prepare for surgery!"_

 _Eri opened her eyes. Blurriness and dark blobs moved around in her vision. She felt her left eyelid open even wider. A bright light appeared causing her to pull away. But when she did, more pain shot through her body. "Mommy!"_

" _I'm…ere. Don…sweetie…"_

" _You…be fine…"_

 _Eri looked for the distant yet familiar voices. She reached out to them. She wanted them to hold her. She was in so much pain. More voices faded in and out of her ears. The unclear world also faded in and out before everything went solid black. Then came the pain. It was different from the pain she had felt before. Something was missing. She could feel it. Her heart ached. She knew she had lost something important. "No…it can't…I can't…I don't want…I didn't mean…"_

…

"No…I don't want to," Eri said. She rolled her head over to her right side. Her breath came in rapid breath. Gripping the smooth fabric in her hands, she turned her head to the left and back to the right. Her chest heaved up and down. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Her eyes popped open. She gasped and forced herself up. "No!" She grabbed her head. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

"Hey, it's okay," a voice said.

"No! Just stop!" Eri said, her hands automatically grabbing the man's sleeves. "I can't do it! I don't want to do it!"

"You're not doing anything. You're just having a bad dream. Wake up now. You're safe."

"Huh?" Eri turned her eyes to the voice. Slowly her eyes came back into focus and she found herself staring into Pratt's concerned eyes. "What happened?"  
"You were having a bad dream," Pratt said. "Are you okay now?"

"Yeah." Eri nodded. "I…I think so."

Silence passed between them for several seconds before Pratt spoke up again He said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Eri said. She dropped her eyes down from his, noticing she was clinging onto his shirt. She released him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Pratt said. "You were just scared."

Eri could only nod. She was scared. Her nightmare, or whatever it was had scared her.

"If you tell me about it you'll feel better," Pratt said.

Eri shook her head. She really didn't want to talk about it.

"Are you sure?" Pratt asked.

"I'm sure," Eri said. "I don't really remember much of it." And she didn't. She could only recall talking to three different people in a field, the storm, and pain, so much pain. She grabbed her chest. "I don't…remember."

"That's okay too," Pratt said. "I have dreams where I forget them shortly after waking up." He stood up. "Well, you've been out for a while. You're probably hungry."

Eri opened her mouth to protest food. Instead, she accepted it. "I guess a little bit."

"I'll go get you something then," Pratt said. "I might be a while."

"That's fine," Eri said while thinking about how she didn't have anywhere to go and nothing to do.

"Yeah," Pratt drawled.

Eri looked up at him when he didn't move. He was just watching her. She couldn't help but wonder why this guy was with those other three. While she still didn't know him very well, she felt like he really, really didn't want to be a part of this. Or was it just a trick to get her to let her guard down? She didn't know. And probably never would. "Did you need something?"

"I'm sorry," Pratt said, his cheeks tinting pink. He headed towards the door. "I'll just leave now."

Eri sighed when the door closed. Using her hands, she pulled her legs up to her chest. Wrapping her arms around them, she rested her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. Relaxing her mind, she tried to remember the rest of her dream. Instead of getting more she had more disappear. She really wished she had some paper. If she did she could have wrote down what all she had dreamed about and tried to figure out what exactly it was. Something about it felt very familiar. The two people she was with were very familiar. Or she thought they were. She started to think it was just a dream she's had before. It had to be. She lifted her eyes to the window. She whispered, "Luffy…please…save me."

…

Luffy was sitting on the figurehead of the Sunny. Staring out on the horizon, his eyes scanned for an island while his leg bobbed up and down. "Come on. Come on. Eri…just hold on. I'm coming. I won't let them get away with this."

…

"Is he going to be all right?" Neo asked. She started up at Luffy from the main deck with a worried expression. "He's been sitting up there since we left Pax."

"He'll be fine," Sanji said.

"But he hasn't eaten anything," Neo said. She turned her eyes to the pirates around her and took them in. Penguin, Robin, Chopper, and Sanji were sitting with her at the small round table while the other Straw Hats were scattered around the deck. She and Penguin was the only Heart Pirates on the Sunny. The others were over on the sub doing whatever they felt like if they didn't have orders to fulfill. And Penguin was only with her because Law wanted one of their crew to be by her side while she pushed them along.

"I can't believe that either," Nami said from the helm of the ship. "It's not like him to skip meals."

"You can't really blame him," Robin said, flipping to the next page of her book. "Eri isn't like the rest of us. She can't defend herself like we can."

"Yeah, I guess you do have a point," Nami said. "But I still don't understand why someone would kidnap her."

"Maybe she has some kind of knowledge about a treasure or something," Chopper offered.

"That could be possible," Usopp said. "Luffy did say that Eri said they had a lot of guards watching their home."

"Well, we'll know soon enough," Zoro said, pumping his over sized weight.

"He's correct," Brook said. "We've made great progress in just one day."

"If Neo can keep this up, we should be seeing an island sometime tomorrow," Nami said.

"Why can't we be there now?!" Luffy demanded, startling everyone since they didn't think he was paying attention to them. He flung himself to the others, landing with a loud thud. "Neo! Can't you go any faster?!"

"I'm sorry, Luffy," Neo said.

"Luffy, we already told you," Franky said. "If we go too fast the ship will get damaged. Then we'll have to stop for repairs. And that'll take us even long to get to your friend."

"I don't care!" Luffy screamed. "Eri's my friend! Go faster, Neo!"

Sanji slammed his foot on to of his captain's head. "You idiot! She can't! Besides, can't you see she's getting tired?!"

"I'm all right," Neo said. But her body betrayed her words with a yawn.

"You should stop," Penguin said.

"No." Neo shook her head. "I want to keep going."

"Neo, you know what the captain will say about this," Penguin said. "You're getting tired. You need to rest and sleep if you can."

"Penguin," Neo said softly.

"Neo," Luffy said, pulling her attention to him. "He's correct. You need to rest and take care of yourself and your baby."

"But I-"

"It's fine," Luffy said, cutting her off. "Eri's my friend. But you're my friend as well. I'm sorry for being so impatient. I know Eri wouldn't want you to put yourself and your baby in any kind of danger or stress. You should take a break."

"Very well then," Neo said. "But I'm going to have some sea kings pull us along."

"Do you sense some near by?" Franky asked.

"I do." Neo nodded. "They've actually been following us for quite a while now."

"What?!" Chopper and Usopp screamed. "They've been following us?! Why didn't you say something then?!"

"They're not threatening us," Neo said. "They're only interested in me." She stood up and walked over to the edge of the ship. Looking over the railing, she called out for the sea kings below the surface. The water broke. Four large sea snakes appear, causing Usopp and Chopper to scream once again.

"What are you idiots screaming about?!" Nami shouted. "You know Neo can control animals!"

"We know!" Usopp and Chopper said, clinging to each other. "But they're still scary!"

"Those two will always be cowards," Sanji said.

Ignoring the commotion behind her, Neo addressed the sea kings. "Hello! Would you mind doing me a favor? We're trying to get to an island that's not very far from here. We're not exactly sure where it is, we only know its three days away from Pax Island. What? Oh, really?"  
"What are they saying, Neo?" Penguin asked.

"They said they know the island," Neo said, looking over her shoulder. "They said it's the only one out this way. They also say they'll take us right to it."

"That's awesome!" Luffy cheered.

"Thanks a lot for you help," Neo said. She summoned a couple earth crystals. Pulling up some seaweed, she wrapped it around the sea kings like a bridle then wrapped the other ends around the sub and ship. The sea kings dove underwater and instantly headed towards the island. She banished her wind crystals, letting the sea kings take over her work. "It's all set."

"Thanks, Neo," Luffy said. "I really appreciate you doing this for me and Eri."

"Don't worry about it, Luffy," Neo said. She walked over to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hugged him. "You know I'd do anything for you."

"Yeah." Luffy nodded. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her gently. "You get to your resting now."

"I will." Neo pulled away from him. She cupped his cheek and brushed her thumb over his skin. "She'll be okay. We'll be there soon."

Luffy nodded again. He watched Neo walked back over to her chair and sit down. He then launched himself back up to the figurehead. Continuing his watch, he kept his eyes on the horizon. He barely noticed his crewmates and friends wondering around the deck. He didn't even hear what they were talking about. He just continued to stare. Before long the bright sun had set and the moon had risen. The air was cool on his exposed skin but he didn't care. They were closer to finally getting to Eri. She wondered how she was doing. He wondered if she was being hurt. He hoped not. But if they did, he was going to thrash whoever touched her. He clenched his fists, wishing there was some way to move faster than they already were.

…

"Hey! Luffy!"

"Huh?" Luffy looked over his shoulder when Sanji's voice broke into his ears. He didn't even notice that the sun was high in the sky already. All of his friends, including Neo and Law were on the deck. "What?"

"You better come eat!" Sanji called up to him. "You're going to need your strength to fight!"

"Please, Luffy," Neo said when the rubber man didn't move. "You've been up all night long and skipped breakfast. We're about to arrive at the island."

"What?!" Luffy jumped up and shot himself over to his blue haired friend. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes." Neo nodded. "I can sense an island getting closer. I also spoke to some of the local sea life. They said that they saw a ship a few days ago enter into the island."

"Enter into the island?" Nami questioned. "What do you mean by that?"

"How is it possible to _enter_ into an island?" Franky asked from the helm.

"Apparently the shape of this island causes the entrance to the island to be hidden," Neo said. "There's a small opening on one side where the ships can enter into it."

"Seems they had a well thought out plan," Robin said.

"An island that has a hidden entrance would be the perfect stop to hide someone," Law said. He tapped his sheath on his shoulder in thought. "Since that's the case it would probably be better if only a few of us went onto the island while the rest of us stay out here with the ships."

"What for?" Usopp asked. "Shouldn't we all go in? I mean, we have no idea how many men there's going to be on the island."

"Exactly," Law said. "If we all go into this place without knowing how many people are really there then we could very well get trapped on the island."

"He's right," Zoro said. "There is the possibility that they could have an ambush set up on the island in case someone did follow them. With just that one entrance to guard we could get caught inside."

"Neo could just fly us out of there," Usopp said.

"Not after pushing us along these past few days," Law said. "And her magic is still occasionally cutting out on her. I'm not going to put her and our baby at risk anymore. She's not even going in herself."

"Excuse me?" Neo crossed her arms over her chest.

"Neo, you need to stay here," Law said.

"We're fine, Law," Neo said. "You can't go in without me."

"Yes, we can," Law said. "I can warp everyone to the island and back to the ships."

"No, you can't," Neo insisted. "What if they have sea prism chains and an entire army waiting for us?"

"I highly doubt that's likely," Law said.

"Law, you're not going in without me," Neo said. "I won't permit it."

"Neo, you're not going…" Law's voice trailed off when tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. He sighed. He didn't want to upset her, but with her pregnancy, it seemed that was always impossible anymore. He placed his hand behind her head and pulled her into him. "Shh…don't cry, love. I just want to keep you two safe."

"I know," Neo mumbled into his chest. "I'm sorry I'm being emotional again."

"It's fine," Law whispered.

"She can go, Tra," Luffy said. "I'm not planning on getting into a fight anyway or at least a big one. I know we're going to have to fight at least a little bit."

"What?!" Usopp and Chopper screamed. They dashed over to their captain and started checking his vital signs.

"He doesn't have a fever!" Usopp reported, his hand on Luffy's forehead.

"His blood pressure is normal as well," Chopper said before pulling out a needle. "I need to take a blood sample."

"What are you two doing?!" Luffy demanded.

"It's not like you to not fight without a reason!" Usopp said.

"I have a reason!" Luffy said. "Eri's in a wheelchair, remember? I don't want to cause a big fight around her if I can help it! Unless they have hurt her, I'm ordering you all to not fight all out! Just do enough to help escape with her!"

"Luffy has a point," Brook said. "This isn't like rescuing one of us. Eri is different. She needs to be handle differently in our escaped attempt. That is why I have to agree that Neo must go." The skeleton chuckled nervously when Law glared at him. "I'm only saying that Neo can better escape with Eri on her winds than the rest of us can in carrying her. Plus, we have her wheelchair to think about. That doesn't need to get damaged at all or left behind. We might not be able to find her a new one."

"Don't worry about that," Franky said. "If it does get damaged, I can easily build her a new one. It'll be super amazing!"

"That'll be great, Franky!" Luffy smiled.

"So who's going to go?" Sanji said. "I know it's obvious that Luffy, Law, and Neo are going."

"I think you and Zoro should also go," Nami said.

"Why us?" Zoro asked.

"Because you're our two other strongest members," Nami said. "We have no idea what kind of strength these men have."

"Then wouldn't it be better if one of them stays behind to help guard the ships?" Chopper asked.

"We'll have the rest of our crew and the Heart Pirates with us," Nami said. "Most of the Heart Pirates can stay on the sub and have it ready to dive if it's needed. Their stronger members can stay over here with us in case we needed them. Neo can give us a signal if we need to prepare for a hasty take off. The sub can dive underwater and we can escape with a Coop de Burst."

"All right!" Luffy slammed his fist into his palm. "We have a plan! Now let's-" His voice was cut off by a loud rumble of his stomach. He wrapped his arms around his protesting organ. "Eat! Sanji, I'm hungry! Meat!"

"He's back to normal," Nami said while Robin giggled.

"I already told you I have some food prepare!" Sanji said just seconds before Luffy dashed off to the kitchen. "Good grief."

"So how much longer until we reach the island?" Usopp asked.

"About fifteen minutes," Neo said, her eyes closed in concentration to feel out the location of the island.

…

It didn't take long, like usual, for Luffy to eat the lunch that Sanji had prepared for him. Once finished, he ran back out on the deck, licking his fingers as he went. He made his way upon the figurehead once more and looked out over the ocean. "Hey! Neo! How much farther now?!"

"Neo and Tra went back the sub," Nami said. "They're talking the plan over with their crew before come back here with those who are going to stay with us while you all go inland."

"Before leaving Neo did say that it was only about eight minutes before we arrive at the island," Robin's voice said.

"Just eight minutes," Luffy said. He narrowed his eyebrows. He had no idea what was going on with Eri, but her knew she was upset. He could feel it happened. He wished he knew why. But he had no idea. And he had no choice but to wait. This was the first time ever he felt like time had stopped. Well, that wasn't completely true. Time stopped for him once when he thought Sabo had died and then again when Ace did die. Those were horrible times. However, in some ways, this felt a lot worse. Though he didn't know why he felt like that. He could only assume it was because Eri wasn't like him, Sabo, Ace, or any other of his crewmembers. Eri was different. She was special. He wanted to be by her side to let her know that it would be all right. And soon he would be. Then he would never let anyone take her like that again.

It was the most painfully slow eight minutes of his life. But finally, finally, they made it to their destination. He could see the island coming closer. He punched his fist into his head and said, "All right! Let's do this! Neo!"

Neo summoned her wind crystal. Engulfing their group in her winds, she pulled them off of the deck of the Sunny and into the air.

"We'll be back soon," Sanji said. "Be sure to get the ships ready to leave when we do."

"You got it," Nami said.

"Hurry back!" Chopper called up.

"Don't get into too much trouble!" Brook added.

"Remember! Get her and get out!" Usopp reminded them.

"We'll be fine!" Luffy called back. "Come on, Neo! Fly us as fast as you can!"

"Fly how you want," Law said. "Don't listen to this idiot. You and our child are more important."

"Relax, Law," Neo said. "I'm in control. Huh?"

"What's wrong?" Law asked.

"I can sense the wind inside of the house," Neo said.

"Maybe a window's open," Zoro said.

"Possibly but I don't think so," Neo said. "It feels like it's only in this one particular room. I'm not sure but I think we should head right to that room."

"If your instincts are telling you that, then head right for it," Law said.

Neo nodded. Picking up on her winds, she took them around to the other side of the building. When she found the room where the wind was in she pointed to it. "There it is!"

"Let's go!" Luffy shouted.

…

Eri sat quietly while she picked at the now cold fish on her plate. She didn't feel like eating. She wasn't hungry at all and her mind was too distracted by her practice sessions yesterday and this morning. It happened again. She tried to float the ball but wasn't able to without freaking out and caused herself to shoot back towards the wall. And still she had no idea why this was happening. She couldn't figure it out. There was no reason for her to be afraid of the wind, yet she was. Sure they lived on an island and had their fair share of storms that passed by. However, their house was strong enough to with stand the storms that did come. She never felt them at all. When one did blow through, someone would always move her into one of the many well build rooms of the house before it hit or shortly after. All of these particular rooms were reinforced when built. They were also built so she wouldn't be anywhere near windows or doors. She was protected, trapped with in the so called safe walls of her _home_.

It was becoming frustrating. She had an irrational fear. She had never been hurt by the wind in any kind of way. So why? Why was she so scared of controlling the wind? Was it because she was always so protected by her family? Could she have some bizarre fear of new things because she's never been allowed to experience life before?

She shook her head. No, that couldn't be it. She wanted to be free after all. And what better way to obtain freedom than controlling the wind? It literally went wherever it pleased. It did whatever it wanted. It could be a gentle breeze, cooling off people and the planet or it could be gale force winds that ripped an entire island apart. To her it seemed and felt like the ultimate freedom. A freedom she had at her fingertips.

"You really should eat," said Pratt.

"I'm not hungry," Eri said.

"It's not good to skip meals," Pratt said.

Eri felt like rolling her eyes. He was sounding like her so called protective parents. She didn't care about food right now. She was too confused. Besides, skipping an occasional meal wouldn't and never hurt anyone.

"Please eat something," Pratt said.

She mentally sighed. She really didn't want him here. And really had no idea why he was staying with her. He appeared to be more around since her issue appeared yesterday followed by that strange dream she had. Her eyes rolled at the memory of him being so gentle with her. There was no possible way he actually cared about her. She wasn't going to let herself fall for it despite the small lingering hope in the back of her mind that kept asking if it was possible that she would turn against Boss and those other two and help her escape. She stole a quick glance at him. He wasn't looking at her. He was staring down at his empty plate and looked to be thinking about something. She figured her was probably trying to figure out something else to say that would get her to eat.

It never came. Before either of them could think of something else to say, Boss had entered into the room. With one hand remaining on the door handle he placed his other on his hip. His lips curling down into a frown when he saw her plate was still full. He said, "You didn't eat."

"I'm not hungry," she said.

"You should eat," Boss said. "You need to remain strong to pull this off."

Eri sighed. This guy didn't really care about her health, not that she cared. He only wanted her to remain strong so she could carry out his will. She clenched the fabric of her dress. A fire lit up inside of her chest. She was really starting to dislike this man. He didn't even know her. She _was_ healthy. And she was healthy because of all the health food that her parents forced down her throat. Getting sweets or any other kind of junk food practically never ever happened. In fact, she couldn't even remember the last time she got a real cookie, ice cream, and really any other such treat. The thought made her mouth water. She wanted to wrap the wind around herself and fly to the nearest theme park and eat junk until she was sick. But just as quickly as she though it, her body became cold with dread and fear of the wind. She tightened her hold on her dress, piercing the fabric with her nails.

"Eri, you're fine." She heard a voice saying. It took her a moment to realize it was Pratt that spoke. Still she wasn't able to come out of her fear. "I don't understand. Why does she become like this when she thinks about or when someone mentions the wind?"

"It doesn't matter," Boss said. "One way or another she will over come her fear and do as I say."

"I think there's more to it than we think," Pratt said. "We should talk to her about it."

"We don't have time to _talk_ about it," Boss said. "And there's nothing to talk about."

"But-"

"Silence!" Boss boomed, causing Eri to jump. She placed her hand over her pounding heart. She didn't need to hear him shout like that. She was on edge enough as it was. "I won't hear any more about this! I didn't bring her here so we could all speak about our feelings! She has no choice or say in what happens here! She will take us to Anemone whether she likes it or not! Now, she has five minutes to eat and get to the training room!"

Eri jumped again when the door slammed. She looked up to see that she and Pratt were once again the only ones in the room.

"That guy," Pratt grumbled as he saw back down.

"Why do you work for him?" Eri found herself asked. Instantly she felt her cheeks heat up from the open question. She hadn't meant to ask it. It just rolled off her tongue.

"Sometimes I wonder that myself," Pratt said.

Eri opened her mouth to ask another question, but she quickly shut it when he looked at her.

"You can talk to me if you want," Pratt said.

"No," Eri replied. Talking to him or any of the others was not on her to do list unless she absolutely had to. Before long, her five minutes was up. Her food still laid untouched on her plate as Pratt pulled her away from the table. She didn't care. She still wasn't hungry. Only the sound of his boots tapping on the wooden floor passed between them while he pushed her down the slightly dark hall to the training room.

Pratt opened the door and pushed her in. Like the day before, Boss was patiently waiting for her to come here. Without a word, Pratt rolled her in front of him boss then left the room.

Eri glanced over at a window. Softly, she said, "I don't want to do this."

"You don't have a choice," Boss said. "Now hold out your hands so I can take off the bracelets."

Eri didn't move.

"Come on," Boss said. "We don't have all day. Don't make me repeat myself."

Eri flinched. As if under their own power, her hands lifted off her lap. Her heart and head pounded hard. So hard she thought that they both were going to explode. The boss man reached out for her wrists. Just as he was about to clamp the voice blocking talismans on her wrists glass shattered and rained down on the floor.

"What the heck?!" Boss hissed.

"Luffy!" Eri cried upon seeing her friend.

"Eri!" Luffy shouted. He bolted for her. "I've come to save you!"

"You're not taking her!" Boss said. He tossed the talismans down on the floor. They clanked angrily at the treatment before wobbling to a stop.

"Get out of my way!" Luffy, not wasting any time, encased his right fist with his Armament Haki and smashed it in the boss's face. The man flew backwards, his body flying through the wall and into the next room across the hall. He then ran over to Eri. "Hey! Are you all right?! Did they hurt you?!"

"No." Eri shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Then we should be going," Law said.

"Yeah!" Luffy nodded. "Eri, this is Neo. She's going to fly us out of here. You don't have to be scared. She's really good at controlling the wind."

"She can control the wind?" Eri turned her eyes to Neo for a second before looking at the light blue crystal that hovered near her.

"You can talk later about it," Zoro said upon hearing footsteps thundering down the hall. "We need to go now unless you want to get caught up in a fight."

"No," Luffy said. "Let's go."

Neo nodded. She pulled Eri into her winds and lifted them back out the window.

Eri's eyes widened at how high they were. Her nerves settled when Luffy's hand found its way to her shoulder. She turned to his bright smile.

"See? Neo's good at controlling the wind," Luffy said.

"Yeah. I guess so," Eri said. With in a few second, their small group had landed on the deck of the Sunny.

"Let's go!" Luffy ordered.

"You got it, Captain!" Franky yelled. "Get ready for a Coupe De Burst!"

Eri wondered what they were talking about.

"Hold on," Luffy said.

Eri looked around. She found that all of them were grabbing on to different parts of the ship. Before she could question it a loud pop caused the ship to go sailing. A startled cry left her lips. She could feel her body and wheelchair slipping on the woodened deck. She closed her eyes tight, expecting to get thrown off. When her body didn't go flying, she opened her eyes to find the blue haired girl still had her crystals out and have them floating in the air. Her head spun. Feeling the day taking hold of her, she let her eyes close and blacked out.


	5. Straw Hats & Heart Pirates

Straw Hats & Heart Pirates

Eri opened her eyes to the sight of an unfamiliar room. Upon the room swaying, she needed her eyebrows in confusion. Her bedroom never swayed before. So why was it now? And why didn't her room smell the same? This one was different. There were multiple scents of perfume mixing in her nose. Then she remembered that she wasn't at home at all. This wasn't her room. A startled gasp escaped her mouth as she pushed herself up on the bed she was lying on. Her pounding heart became to slow down when she noticed her wheelchair was sitting beside the bed. Looking around the room was rather small. There was a vanity, a closet, a table, and a couple chairs. This wasn't her room or the room in that…

She then remembered. Luffy had come. He had saved her from those men. This had to be his ship that she was on. And with the delicate smells of the room it had to be the women's quarters. She remembered Luffy telling her than the two women, Robin and Nami shared a room. Pushing the blanket off of her, she picked up her legs and placed her feet on the footrests of her wheelchair then pivoted her body into the seat.

Unlocking the wheels, she rolled over to the door and opened it. Bright light of the sun washed over her eyes, bring the warm, salty breeze with it. Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she rolled farther out of the room until she reached the railing of the little balcony or whatever this part of the ship was called. Her eyes dropped to the deck where several people were sitting around. A couple she recognized from her rescue. They were the green haired man with the three swords and the blonde haired man in a black suit. So that clearly made the rest of them the rest of the Straw Hat pirates. Instantly she knew who they all were. Luffy's descriptions were right on the spot. She didn't see Luffy anywhere though. Her heartbeat increased upon finally getting to meet him. Back in that house didn't really count. She only got to look at him. She didn't get to speak to him. Now that she was going to get to speak to him, she didn't know what she would or should say.

"Hey, she's awake," one of them said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Her eyes went to the one who had spoke. It was an animal with horns. Recalling her letters from Luffy she easily placed a name to the reindeer's face. It was Tony Tony Chopper. He was the doctor of the Straw Hat pirates and had eaten the Human Human Devil Fruit. She pulled her eyes from him and looked at the rest of the Straw Hats. Sanji was the cook of the crew, the one who smoked and flirted with just about every woman he say. She felt an odd sense of longing for a guy to flirt wit her, even if it was just in good humor. Then there was Zoro the swordsman and the first mate that Luffy recruited. She felt slightly afraid of him looking up at her. He wasn't glaring but his expression wasn't friendly either. She moved on. Nami was the navigator and brought the orange trees they had on the ship from her home island, plus she loved money more than anything else in the world with the exception of the trees. Robin was an archeologist with long black hair and the Flower Flower Devil Fruit. She found the woman very beautiful. Franky was the shipwright and a cyborg with some really outlandish redesigns to his body. Personally, she liked the way he looked before the change. Brook was the musician and a living skeleton thanks to his Revive Revive Devil Fruit. And then there was Usopp the sniper, coward, and liar of the group. Luffy was the only one still missing.

"Hey, Luffy!" Sanji called out over her head. She wondered why he would he calling up her way. "Eri's awake! Come see her!"

"Eri!" Luffy's voice shouted out.

She looked up just in time to see her rubber friend appearing above her. Blinking in confusion, she wondered where he came from as he flew over her head. He landed on the railing in front of her, somehow, with a huge smile on his face. She ran her eyes all over his features. Her heart beating wildly. He was the exact same as she had seen him in the newspapers and on his bounty poster. Her mouth went dry. She couldn't believe she was actually seeing her pen pal for the first time in person. She had gone over it a thousand times what she would say if she ever got the chance to meet him. Not that there was a high chance of that, but she still envisioned it. Now that he was right in front of her, she couldn't even think of what her name was. She swallowed hard, finding it hard to breath.

"I'm so glad you're all right!" Luffy said, crouching down on the railing. "I was so worried about you when I heard you were kidnapped! No! It was before that! I had a bad feeling! Then we learned of your kidnapping!"

Eri felt her mouth bobbing up and down, but no words would come out.

"Is she all right?" Nami asked from the table she was sitting at.

"She might just be in a bit of shock," Robin said. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Perhaps she needs something to drink and to join us down here."

"I'll get right on that," Sanji said, heading up to the kitchen.

Eri watched the blonde walked up the stairs opposite from her position. She wanted to tell him that she was fine and didn't need anything to drink, but her voice still wouldn't work. Next thing she knew she was being lifted into the air. Gripping her wheelchair tightly, she looked down to find a large hand lowering her and her wheelchair does to the deck. Luffy landed beside her on the large hand. His grin was still bright and friendly as he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her steady. Warmth spread over her body from his touch. She didn't even notice they had landed on the deck of the ship until Luffy removed his hand from her shoulder.

"That's better!" Luffy said. Or she thought it was Luffy. It sounded like him. Her heart was just pounding to hard in her head and chest for her to be sure.

"Are you all right, my dear?" Brook asked. "You look a bit shaken up. Kind of pale and red at the same time. Are you going to be sick?"

"Oh, no, um, I'm fine," Eri said, finally finding her voice. "A bit shaken up I guess. I thought I was going to be stuck with those men forever or at least until they killed me or whatever. I don't know."

"I would think so," Franky said, leaning back against the railing with his hands behind his head. "It must have been so terrifying for you to get kidnapped like that."

"I'm glad to hear that," Brook said, bowing to her. "In that case, may I see your panties?"

Eri felt her face flush with embarrassment. She wasn't use to such boldness from people. And she had forgotten that Luffy mentioned that Brook asked the question often.  
"Knock it off, will you?!" Nami snapped. She pulled back her punch and knocked the skeleton across the deck. "You shouldn't ask women that! You pervert!"

Eri jumped when the skeleton hit the wall with a sharp crack. It sounded like something had broken. Maybe a bone?

"I'm sorry," Brook said. A lump appeared on his head from his upside down position.

"Perhaps we should talk about why she was taken in the first place," a voice said.

Eri turned her eyes to the voice and found two more people on the deck. She recalled them from her rescue. The tall black haired man was still holding his long sword, nodachi if she remember correctly, with right hand while his left was lazily intertwined with the crystal wielding blue haired girl's hand. The girl looked a bit differently. She was now wearing a yellow and black hoodie with a smiley face on it. Her eyes flickered to the big yellow mass behind the two. The same smiley was on the ship that she assumed was theirs.

"Tra! Neo!" Luffy said. He placed his hand on Eri's shoulder making her feel warmth again from the touch. "This is my friend Eri. Eri, these are my crewmates and friends. Do you know them well enough or should I introduce them?"

"I know them well enough," Eri said. "Your descriptions of them were quite accurate. However," She pointed at the two Heart Pirates, "I'm not sure who they are."

"That's right!" Luffy said. "I haven't had time to write you about them and their crew. This is Tra and Neo. They're new members of my crew."

"We are not!" Law snapped. "We're only temporary allies until we take down Kaido!"

"See?" Luffy laughed. "We're friends. They're also married and Neo's pregnant."

Eri's eyes pulled to Neo's stomach. A flush of embarrassment washed over her and she quickly looked away. She felt like she was intruding on something private. Though she wasn't sure why.

"You're an idiot, Straw Hat," Law snapped.

Eri turned back to the new pirates. She watched as Law's annoyed expression disappeared as Neo leaned against his side. Her heart skipped a beat when the man looked at his wife. She could see it instantly. These two really loved each other.

"Never mind that," Nami said. "Why did those men take you?"

"Oh, well," Eri looked at the navigator, "they took me because of my talismans."

"Talismans?" Zoro asked.

"These." Eri touched her earrings. "They said these could control the wind."

"Is that possible?" Chopper asked.

"I didn't think it was at first," Eri said. "But then I actually used the wind. Somehow within the room, I was able to control the wind."

"That's not possible," Zoro said.

"You better not be calling such a sweet young woman a liar, you idiot swordsman," Sanji said, descending back down the stairs with a tray in his hand.

Eri was impressed. The cook couldn't have been gone for more than a minute or two. She brushed it off as him already having the drink ready. That had to be why he wasn't gone for very long. Or maybe he really was just that good. She didn't know. She didn't know him but for what Luffy has told her through their letters.

"Since when have you heard of earrings controlling the wind?" Zoro asked.

"Why wouldn't that be possible? Here you go, my dear," Sanji said. With a bow, he held out the tray to Eri.

"Thank you," Eri said. She took the glass from the tray and took a sip. The orange flavor danced over her tongue. Her eyes lit up with surprise. There was no way this was premade. It was far too fresh for it to be. And it had sugar in it, something she wasn't use to getting. She wanted to gulp it down right there. But her proper up bringing force her to take small sips of it through the straw instead.

"You mean these things can control the wind?" Luffy leaned in close to her head, inspecting the little blue balls in her ear.

Eri felt her face grew warm once more. Her heart raced erratically in her chest. It was suddenly hard to breathe with him so close to her. It confused her. She had been around other guys before and never felt like this. "Uh, w-well…yes. I-I don't know how though."

"Hey, Neo!" Luffy said. "You can control the wind. Do you know how this is possible?"

"Why would I know that?" Neo asked.

Eri noticed for the first time how soft the blue haired girl spoke.

"Aren't your crystals talismans?" Luffy asked.

"I don't know." Neo looked up at Law. "Could they be?"  
"No," Law said. "Talismans are physical objects themselves that aren't attached to people. People have to carry them around one way or another and need words to activate their magic. Your crystals are a part of you."

Eri eyed the two Heart Pirates. She wondered what he meant by that, but didn't bother to ask. She also wondered why he had to explain to Neo what talismans were and how they worked.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Franky said. "Why take her when they could easily just take the earrings off of her?"  
"Oh, yeah," Usopp said. "I never thought of that. Why bother going through so much trouble?"  
"Because I'm the only one who can control them apparently," Eri said. "The man who was in control, he called himself Boss, said that he wanted me to take him and his three partners to an island that's apparently hidden in the wind."

"An island hidden in the wind?" Robin asked. "Are you serious? You're talking about Anemone!"

"You've heard of it?" Nami asked.

"I have," Robin said. "It's a legend among my fellow archeologists. I've read the stories since I was a little girl, but didn't believe they were actually true. However, I did see a talisman one time that was rumored to be able to control and create fire."

"Sounds like a Devil Fruit," Luffy said.

"I never knew if it was true for sure, but when you got close to the talisman you could feel heat coming from it," Robin said. "I saw it in a museum with a bunch of other relics that were suppose have been found from a shipwreck."

"Boss said there were several other talismans in the world," Eri said.

"I wonder why we've never heard of them before," Sanji said, tucking the tray under his arm.

"So how do you get to this island?" Chopper asked.

"I'm suppose to say this certain spell or something," Eri said. "I think it's suppose to open some kind of gateway or something. I'm not really sure. Boss wasn't exactly forthcoming with information."

"Such a shame," Robin said, crossing her legs. "I would have loved to hear more about this."

"I'm sorry," Eri said.

"Don't be," Sanji said.

"Yeah, it's not your fault," Chopper said.

"So how long have you had those talismans?" Usopp asked.

"I don't know," Eri said. "I think I've always had them."

"Did your parents know about them?" Chopper asked.

"I don't think so," Eri said. "Or, if they did, they never said anything about it to me."

"This is so awesome!" Luffy exclaimed. "I want to see it! I want to see you control the wind!"

"I'm not sure," Eri said. "I don't really have much control over it."

"Then get control over it!" Luffy said. "Then you can take us to this island! And you're now a part of our crew!"

"What?!" the Straw Hats, but for Robin, shouted.

"Ah, come on," Luffy said. He straightened up, with his hands on his hips he smiled at his crew. "It'll be fun. Don't you want to go see this place?"

"Luffy, we can't do that," Zoro said.

"Why not?" Luffy asked.

"The reason should be obvious," Zoro said.

"Well, it's not," Luffy said.

"Then I will be blunt," Zoro said. "We can't keep her on this ship because she's in a wheelchair."

"Zoro!" Nami snapped. "How could you say that?!"

"Yeah! It's not nice!" Chopper added. "She can stay if she wants to!"

"How dare you talk about a lady like that?!" Sanji growled. "You heartless cad!"

"Don't be stupid!" Zoro snapped. "Do you all not remember the dangers we're in as pirates?! With the Navy and other pirates?! How do you expect her to fight?! What do you think would have happened to her if she was with us at Enies Lobby?! Or at Thriller Bark?! And what about Dressrosa?!"

"Well, that was…" Nami started.

Sanji sighed then said, "I hate to agree with the moss head, but he does have a point. As much as I'd love to have another pretty woman on board, we can't take the risk."

"I guess you're right," Chopper said.

"Such a shame," Brook said, now back on his feet.

"No, she's staying with us," Luffy said.

Eri couldn't believe it. Luffy wanted her to stay on his ship. Excitement filled her. She wondered if this was really happening or if she was dreaming. If it was a dream, she didn't want to wake up from it ever.

"Luffy, think about it," Zoro said. "How is she supposed to survive out here? What if she gets thrown overboard? Can she even swim?"

Everyone looked at Eri. She lowered her eyes to the wooden deck feeling her excitement being extinguished with the truth and reality. She didn't want to go back to her home. She wanted to stay with Luffy. But how could she? A wheelchair wouldn't work on the sea. She couldn't fight anyone with her disability. And it could take years for her to learn how to use her talismans properly. She had no choice but to answer honestly. She said, "I can't. My parents never let me go in the water." She rubbed her palms over her legs. "Even before this happened."

"There. You see?" Zoro said. "She can't swim."

"So?" Luffy narrowed his eyebrows. "I can't swim either. That doesn't keep you all from saving me when I fall into the water."

"It's not the same, Luffy," Zoro said. "Once you're out of the water you regain your strength and can fight. And you can use your Devil Fruit to pull yourself back to the ship. She can't do any of that. It's not possible even with her wind talismans. She needs to be taken back home where she'll be safe."

Eri felt her chest tighten. Her hopes of finally getting away from her _home_ were slipping faster and faster from her grip. She was going back to that _prison_. Her bottom lip trembled. She sucked it in. She wasn't going to show emotions here. She was nothing but a breakable doll after all. Dolls didn't have emotions.

"But…" Luffy clenched his fists.

"That's all well and good, but what do you think will happen when we take her back home?" Law said, gaining everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Brook asked.

Yes, Eri thought. What did he mean by that?

"She was taken once before," Law said. "What's to keep her from being taken again? Her house had several guards around it. Yet, these men were able to easily take them out. If they took her once, then they'll take her again since she's the only one who can apparently use these talismans. They will come for her."

Eri felt a small spark of hope returning.

"Then she can stay!" Luffy smiled.

"She's not staying, Luffy," Zoro said.

"Why not?! You heard what Tra and Neo said! They'll come back for her!" Luffy said. "I can protect her from them!"

"You can't protect her all the time, Luffy!" Zoro grabbed his sword handle. "You're always running off to go fight the toughest of our opponents! Who'll protect her then?! Sure we have a strong crew, but once we get into fights anything can happen! We won't be able to protect her ever second of every day! It's just not possible! Not even for you!"

Luffy clenched his fists. "I will protect her."

"But what else can we do?" Nami asked. "Hand her over to the Navy? Those men will still come for her. And it's possible that they have talismans themselves. They Navy could have the power to defend her, but it's possible that they might not."

"The solution is simple," Law said, regaining everyone's attention. "Teach her how to use her talismans then send her back home."

"Teach her how to use her talismans?" Luffy asked.

"Wind is one of the four elements," Neo said. "And one of the strongest. If she can learn to control that then she can easily protect herself from those men, at least for a while anyway. They might have limits."

Luffy dropped his eyes to the floor.

Eri knew they were right. Boss never did tell her if her talismans had limits. And most likely they do. Otherwise they would be too far powerful for anyone to stop. She wished she had opened her mouth when she had the chance and asked these kinds of questions.

"Luffy, you know this is the only way," Zoro said. "If you really care about her, then put her safety over your own desires of wanting her on our crew."

Eri sighed. She was going back to her home island.

"All right," Luffy said. "We'll keep her on board until she can handle herself."

Eri bit her cheek in an attempt to keep herself from crying joy and disappointment. She was getting to stay with Luffy but only for a while.

"I guess it's settled then," Robin said.

"Tra, Neo, can you two help her?" Luffy asked.

"Why us?" Law questioned.

"Because you taught Neo how to use her crystals," Luffy said. "I know she'll be in good hands with you two. You're the best to handle this."

"Law?" Neo looked up at him.

"Fine." Law sighed. "But we'll have to be careful. Those men will no doubt come after us. We need to keep moving and avoid stopping if we can."

"Can you train her on the ship?" Nami asked.

"It should be fine," Law said.

"We need to take them guys out anyway," Sanji said. "If we don't, they'll probably chase her until they have her back again. So if we get the chance we need to take them out then turn them over to the Navy. That will give her more security when we return her home."

"What's to keep someone else from coming after her?" Nami asked.

"Nothing really," Sanji said. "But if someone else was going to come after her then most likely they would have done it by now. She clearly has had these things for several years. Besides, none of that will matter once she has control over the wind."

"Then lets get started!" Luffy said.

"Hold on, Luffy," Robin said. "Eri has had quite a time with being kidnapped. She should be able to rest for the rest of the day. She can start tomorrow."

"I guess that will be fine," Luffy said. "Is that all right with you, Eri?"

"That's fine," Eri said. Her gut twisted into knots. It wasn't fine at all. She didn't want to control the wind. It scared her. She didn't want to get hurt again.

Eri spent the next couple hours listening to the Straw Hats talk. Mostly they spoke about their adventures, even though she's already hear them from Luffy, except for Dressrosa and Punk Hazard. Those two adventures were what they were talking about right now. She couldn't believe what they were saying. They were in such danger. She never knew. Luffy's letters didn't really explain the danger they were in. Her eyes drifted to Luffy. He was sitting beside her at the round table the women had been sitting at since she woke up. She wondered if he downplayed the danger for her sake or if it only didn't sound all that dangerous because it was just a letter she was reading. Sometime during the pirates talking, Sanji had disappeared from their group.

"Dinner's ready," Sanji then announced.

Eri looked up at the man standing on the upper deck opposite from the women's sleeping quarters. She hadn't even noticed when he had walked away from the group. The other two, Heart Pirates, seemed to be missing as well. And since Sanji announced it was dinner time she could only assume that they went back to their sub to eat.

Her eyes then wondered over to the stairs. Her heart sank a little. There was no way she could get up those herself. And they clearly didn't have a lift to get her up to the next level. Swallowing hard, she forced her lips to open. "Excuse me, I will just eat out here."

"What?! No way!" Luffy said. "You're going to eat with us!"

Eri shifted.

"Don't worry about it, Eri," Sanji said. "We can get you up here with no problem what so ever."

"That's not necessary," Eri said despite wanting to follow them. "I don't mind. It's nice out here anyway."

"No way," Luffy said. He stood up from his chair and stepped over to her. Before she could question his intentions, he slipped his arms around her and lifted her into them.

The beating of her heart made its way up to her ears. She barely heard Sanji said, "Well, that's one way to do it."

"I got her chair!" Chopper said.

Eri glanced over Luffy's shoulder. She watched as Chopper's body expanded. Her eyes widened. It took her a moment to realize she just witnessed the Human Human Devil Fruit in action.

"Let's eat now," Luffy said.

Eri turned her attention back to Luffy. He carried her all the way up the stairs and into the kitchen. She scanned her eyes around. The kitchen was a lot nicer than she had imagined it would be. But then with how Luffy explained Sanji, she knew she shouldn't be surprised. Still, she couldn't help but thing that pirates would have a dirty looking kitchen. This one was spotless. The next thing she knew, she was back in her wheelchair and sitting at the head of the table right next to Luffy. Her heart continued to thunder in her chest. She glanced at Luffy. He was wearing a bright smile. She forced her eyes back to the kitchen and took it in. The room was divided into two parts. They were sitting at the table with a couch along the wall on her right. Over to her left was the actual kitchen that was completely with a bar. Her eyes wondered down to the chairs. She noticed they were built into the floor and couldn't be moved. That made sense. Their ship would rock a lot and it would get tedious to constantly pick up chairs. It also met that she was stuck right were she was, sitting by Luffy. They wouldn't be able to move the chairs around. But that really didn't bother her much. She wanted to sit beside Luffy. After all, he was the only one she really knew anything about and felt connected to on a personal level.

"She's a beauty, isn't she?" Franky asked.

Eri turned her eyes to the cyborg. He was sitting at the bar with his elbow resting back on the counter while the others had sat down at the table.

"Designed her myself," Franky said.

"She's amazing," Eri said finally realizing he was talking about the ship.

"You'll have to see the rest after we eat," Luffy said.

"That's all right. I don't have to-" Heat rushed to her face when Luffy placed his finger over her lips.

"You're going to see the rest of the ship," Luffy said. "I'm going to carry you."

Eri blinked. For the first time ever she was noticing that she didn't know everything about Luffy like she had thought. He was a bit more carefree than she realizing and, maybe, a bit pushier. Or maybe it was just her. She was use to being told what to do. So this wasn't any different. But she felt different and didn't know why.

"Don't be so pushy, Luffy," Sanji said, placing another plate of food on the table. "She might not feel like taking a tour of the Sunny right now."

Eri finally noticed the delicious smells coming from the food. Her eyes dropped to it. Some of the food was familiar, like the vegetables and fruits, while a few things weren't.

"It'll be fine and fun. She's going," Luffy said.

"Ignore him. You don't have to take a tour if you don't want to. I hope I have something you'll love to eat," Sanji said, ignoring his captain. "You were so deep in your conversation earlier that I didn't want to interrupt you."

"Oh, it's just fine. I'm not really a picky eater," Eri said with a polite smile. "Thank you for cooking for me as well."

"It was my pleasure," Sanji said with a smile and a bow.

"You don't have to be so shy," Luffy said, regaining her attention.

Eri felt her face grow even warmer upon looking back at the young captain.

"You're part of the crew now," Luffy said.

"But I'm not staying," Neo said.

"That doesn't matter," Nami said. "We actually have two more crewmates that don't travel with us because of other duties."

"You have two other crewmates?" Eri kneaded her eyebrows at Luffy. "You never mentioned them."

"I wanted to," Luffy said. "But I didn't want any trace of us being friends to fall into the wrong hands. Do you remember Vivi and Carue?"

"Yes, they're from the kingdom of Alabasta," Eri said.

"They're the two other crewmember," Luffy said.

"So why didn't they just join you?" Eri asked. "If I may ask."

"Vivi is actually the princess of that kingdom," Robin said. "Our connection with her would put her in a lot of danger."

"I see," Eri said.

"Here! You've got to try Sanji's food! It's the best!" Luffy said, filling Eri's place with food until it resembled a small mountain. "Eat up! We have a lot!"

"Until Luffy eats it all," Zoro said through his own mouthful of food. The rest of the crew laughed. Luffy made no response as he kept on eating.

Eri picked up one of the triangular sandwich pieces and slowly munched on it. She couldn't identify the meat that was on it, but it was one of the best, if not the best, sandwiches she had ever eaten. Munching calmly on the food in front of her she continued to listen to the Straw Hats as they talked about their journeys. She felt out of place. She had nothing to add to their conversations. Nothing relatable to the fun and dangers they had been in. And nothing of her own to add in. There was no way they would be interested in how she just sat around the house all day being treated like a glass doll.

"So what's it like where you live?" Usopp asked.

"Oh, well, nothing like the lives you lead," Eri replied. "It's just like any other island."

"You going to finish that?" Luffy asked while pointing to the remaining food on her plate.

"No, you can have it." Eri pushed the plate closer to him. "I'm finished. Thank you again for the food. It was really wonderful. A lot better than what the cooks make for me back home."

"Oh? You don't like what they make?" Sanji asked as he started clearing the dishes from the table.

Eri's heart skipped a beat. "I just meant that you seasoned your food a lot better. The food that the cooks make back home pretty much tastes like wood."

"That's a shame," Sanji said, filling the sink with steaming hot water. "I'll write a few recipes down for you to take home with you."

"Thank you. That's very nice of you," Eri said. Internally, she sighed. If only the cooks would follow the recipes. But she knew they wouldn't. All she was allowed to eat was tasteless health food. At least she was going to get to eat something other than that garbage she was fed back home for a while.

"Let's go now!" Luffy said. "It's time to explore the Sunny!"

"Take it easy with her, Luffy," Sanji said. "She's not like us."

Eri's heart clenched.

"She can't be jerked around," Nami added.

"I know, I know," Luffy said.

 _Fragile. Glass Doll._

She was never going to be able to escape from that. Tears gathered at the back of her eyes. With a deep breath, she pushed them away. Freedom was never going to be hers. She was never going to be like everyone else.

"Are you ready?" Luffy asked despite not giving her time to answer. He just pulled her chair back from the table and picked her up again.

And once more, her face flushed while her heart tried to pound its way out of her chest.

"I'm coming!" Chopper announced.

"I think I'll come along too," Usopp said.

"And of course I'm coming," Franky said. "I've got to talk about my masterpiece after all."

And that was all who went. The rest stayed in the kitchen while their small group left. Eri didn't know where to look. Her eyes wanted to look at Luffy's face. She would, feel embarrassed and looked away. She did this at least ten times before they arrived at the library. And the tour began. Franky explained everything about the ship while she remained in Luffy's arms. When they had to go down to the lower decks, Luffy easily wrapped his arms around her body completely and jumped down. Of course this scared her a bit, but she soon got use to it. She knew, some how, that she was safe in Luffy's arms. The rooms of the ship were all impressive to her. She had no idea that a ship could come so custom made. Her favorite place was the bar that held a huge fish tank. It made her wish she could walk. She would love to have sit down here, or even sleep, for hours. But it wasn't going to happen. She figured she would remain in the women's quarters, either being carried up and down the stairs by Luffy or lifted around in Robin's large hand.

"So what do you think?" Luffy asked once they returned to the deck. When they arrived, someone had moved her wheelchair back outside. He sat her back down in it.

"It's amazing," Eri said. "I'm impressed."

"You're going to love it here," Luffy said.

"Don't say that, Luffy," Usopp said. "Remember she's only going to be here for a short while."

"She'll be here as long as it takes for her to get control over her talismans," Luffy said. "I hope that takes a long time."

Eri smoothed a gasp. The mention of having to control the wind sent shivers through her body.

"You all right, Eri?" Nami's voice asked.

"Huh?" Eri lifted her eyes to the orange haired woman.

"You look a bit pale," Nami said.

"I'm fine," Eri said. "Just a bit nervous I suppose."

"I would think so," Brook said. "After having been kidnapped, you would be on edge." The skeleton bowed to her. "But you have nothing to fear. We shall protect you while you're in our custody."

"Yeah! You're safe with us!" Luffy grinned.

When he said it, Eri couldn't help but believe him. However, the thought of having to return home still lingered in her head. She didn't want to go back home. But how could she ask to stay here after they made it clear they didn't want her here?

"Hello," a soft voice said.

"Hey! It's Neo!" Chopper said while he waved up at the blue haired woman in the air.

Eri looked up as well. The woman was with three others, none she knew. And one was a bear. Her throat tightened. Who in their right mind had a bear with them? And why was that bear wearing an orange suit?

"Neo! My darling little fairy! You've come to see me again!" Sanji cooed with hearts in his eyes.

Eri lifted an eyebrow at him. She wondered if this cook had a death wish. This woman was married. And her husband was near by. The black haired man didn't look like a man to mess with. With how he and this woman didn't move away from each other before when they were over here, she got the feeling they were rather close.

"I brought cookies," Neo said, holding up a tray of freshly baked cookies. "The crew wanted some and I thought I'd share."

"You spoil us," Brook said.

"I can't help it," Neo said, smiling.

"Yeah! Cookies!" Luffy and Chopper cheered. They rushed over and grabbed a couple off the tray before Sanji took the whole thing from Neo.

"I'll take those," Sanji said. He then took the woman's hand.

"Thank you, Sanji," Neo said, letting Sanji led her over to the chairs and table that still remained on the deck. She sat down without protest.

Eri's eyes couldn't help but follow the woman and Sanji. She noticed that Neo had a real gentle grace about her. It was like she was floating across the deck instead of walking. Neo was even graceful in sitting down. And all while being pregnant.

"Hey, there," one of the men said.

Eri turned her eyes back to the men and bear, almost forgetting about them. The tightness in her throat returned but quickly left when she realized this bear was different from others.

"I'm Shachi," the man said. He jerked his thumb at the other two with him. "This is Penguin and Bepo. It's nice to meet you."

"Uh, hello," Eri said, finally coming to the conclusion that this bear was part of the Heart Pirates when she noticed all three of them wore the same suit with the same Jolly Roger on the chest. "I'm Eri. It's nice to met you."

"Same," Penguin said.

Eri's eyes went to his hat. The word penguin was on it. At least she wouldn't forget this one's name since it was on the hat he wore.

"The captains told us about you," Bepo said.

"That's…nice," Eri said.

"You're scaring her, Bepo," Shachi said, elbowing the bear.

"I'm sorry." Bepo bowed his head.

"Oh no. It's all right," Eri said, feeling like she miss led them. "You're not scaring me."

"I was just joking," Shachi said. "Relax, you two."

Eri relaxed in her chair. "I'm sorry. I just didn't know that other pirate crews had animals as well. I was a little taken back. So what Devil Fruit did you eat, if I may ask?"

"I didn't eat a Devil Fruit," Bepo said. "I'm a mink."

"A mink?" Eri asked.

"We're a tribe of animals who live on Zou," Bepo said. "There are all kinds of animals that live there who are like me."

"I see," Eri said, coming to the conclusion that she knew next to nothing about the world. She couldn't help but feel stupid.

…

Eri rolled over in the bed she was sharing with Robin and Nami. They were nice enough to let her sleep on the edge so she could get into her wheelchair if she needed to. And she found that she did need to. She couldn't sleep for several reasons. And she wasn't sure which one she was worried about the most. Having to go back to the home, getting to finally be with Luffy only to have him ripped away, or having to learn how to use her talismans. Cold fear gripped her again when she thought about having to control the wind. Forcing it out of her mind, she pushed the blanket off her legs and shifted into her wheelchair. She went out on the balcony just outside the door.

Eri sighed, letting the salty wind tease her hair. She wanted to go down and look at the fish tank, but the stars and ocean would have to do.

"Is there a problem?"

Eri jumped at the unexpected voice. She whipped her eyes down to the deck where Sanji was standing, staring up at her.

"Is something wrong, Eri?" Sanji asked.

She pressed a hand to her chest, waiting for her heart to slow down before speaking. "I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep. What about you? You couldn't sleep either?"

"I'm on duty," Sanji said.

"Duty?" Eri asked.

"We always have someone on look out duty incase someone tries to sneak up on us in the middle of the night," Sanji said, walking up the stairs to her.

"Oh." Eri felt her face flush with embarrassment. That was obvious. Her own security did that at home.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Sanji said.

Eri jumped. She didn't think the moon was bright enough for him to see her blush. It made her face grow even warmer. She fiddled with the shirt of Nami's she was wearing for a nightshirt while quietness settled around them.

"You're not one for telling people how you really feel, are you?" Sanji asked, catching her off guard.

"Huh?" Eri couldn't believe what she had heard. How could this guy, a guy she's only known for a few hours, guess that about her? Was she really that easy to read after having years of practice keeping her real thoughts concealed?

"Oh, I see now," Sanji said. "You don't know about my Observation Haki since Luffy hasn't written to you for a while."

"Observation Haki?" Eri found herself asking.

"It allows the person to see things before they happen," Sanji said. "But I don't need it to see how you're feeling. It's obvious that you don't want to go back home."

"I'm sorry," Eri mumbled.

"Don't be. I'm sure you have your reasons for not wanting to go back," Sanji said, lighting another cigarette.

"I just-"

"Don't," Sanji said, cutting her off. "If you're going to tell anyone what you're really thinking then it has to be Luffy that hears it first."

Eri sighed. If only she could tell him.

"I mean," Sanji continued, "you're in love with him after all."

"What?" Eri gasped. She could feel the heat running up her neck. It spread over her face and her ears. She wasn't in love with Luffy. Sure she cared about him. He was the only friend she ever really had despite this bring the first time meeting him. She tired to think of something to say. She couldn't. All she could do was watch Sanji walked off as he chuckled lightly.

"Don't worry," he said. "You're secret's safe with me."


	6. The First Letter

The First Letter

Eri woke up the next morning to the sounds of someone moving around in the room. She opened her eyes to temporary blurriness. Blinking the sleep away from her eyes, she pushed herself up, finally noticed that Nami was in the room with her.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Nami asked.

"No, it's fine," Eri replied.

"You can sleep longer if you want," Nami said.

"I'm fine," Eri said. "I wasn't sleeping very well anyway. New place and all."

"I suppose it would be hard for someone to sleep on a ship when you've spent your entire life on land," Nami said. She pulled some clothes out of her closet and walked them over to Eri. She placed them on the bed. "Here. You can wear these."

"Thank you," Eri said.

"See you outside," Nami said. She headed for the door and left so Eri could have privacy while changing.

Eri dropped her eyes to the clothes Nami had given her, a black tank top and a pair of jean shorts. Definitely something she wasn't ever allowed to wear at home. Still, she didn't complain. She didn't have any of her own clothes with her. She was grateful that she had something to wear at least. Even though the bust area was quite a bit bigger on her. Nami was by far more blessed than she was where that was concerned. After a quick change, she left her nightclothes on the bed, and then she shifted into her chair. The bright light of the sun and the salty air was the first to greet her when she opened it. Rolling out on the deck, she was meet by Luffy who landed on the railing in front of her again.

"Good morning, Eri!" Luffy said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Luffy," Eri replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept fine," Luffy said jumping to the deck beside her. "How about you?"

"All right, I guess," Eri said.

"Are you ready to start training today?" Luffy asked.

Coldness settled into her body. No, she wasn't ready.

"Slow down, Luffy," Sanji said. "Let her eat breakfast first."

"Okay! I want breakfast too!" Luffy chirped. He then picked Eri up without another word.

It surprised her again that he had picked her up. He did it so quickly and without asking. But then she really loved that he did. Her chest grew warm from being so close to him. The conversation with Sanji last night flashed through her mind. There was no way she was in love with Luffy. She couldn't be. After all, she's only known him through their letters. It wasn't possible for people to fall in love that way. Then, what did she know about love? She only was ever around people that her parents approved of. And most of them didn't care about her at all. She was confused. She wanted to talk to someone about this but had no one. Or not one she was confortable talking to about it. Not that she actually would. She had grown accustomed to keeping silent about her feelings with how her family has treated her. It made her wonder if she would ever break out of this invisible shield that had gone up around her and her feelings.

Then they were in the kitchen again. Chopper had carried her chair up here. Luffy sat her back in it then pulled her back to his side at the table. Everyone else then joined them. The room was soon filled with chatter, as always, mostly about stuff she had nothing to input on. So she remained quiet like always and ate as much breakfast as her nervous stomach would allow, which wasn't a whole lot. Before long she found they were back outside waiting for Neo and Law to come over to start her training. They didn't wait long. Or it didn't seem like it. She was so nervous she didn't know exactly how much time had passed. But the two Heart Pirates, Neo and Law, had landed on the deck again. Eri eyed Neo curiously. She couldn't help but wonder how old Neo was. The blue haired pirate looked so young, far younger than the man she was married to. It made her wonder if Neo had been forced into the marriage. But that couldn't have been possible, not with how the two looked at each other. It also made her wonder how strong Neo was with her own control over the wind. Neo seemed to have such easy control over it. She knew she'd never be that strong. How could she be? She was afraid of the wind after all.

"Neo! Tra!" Luffy ran over to the two pirates. Placing his hands on his knees, he bent down and spoke to Neo's stomach. "Hello, baby. How did you sleep last night?"

"Baby slept just fine," Neo said with her hand on her stomach.

"Let's just get started," Law said.

Eri stiffened when the pirate turned his steel eyes to her. He felt even more intimidating than yesterday. She had no idea how she was going to survive being trained by him. He didn't look like the type that would take it easy on her. Part of her wished to be back with Boss. The thought sent a shiver up her spine. Apparently, she was losing it if she was thinking like _that_. Here she had Luffy with her. And she knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She exhaled, more or less ready to get this started. "A-all right. I'm…ready."

"So what did this boss guy have you do?" Law asked.

Eri eyed the large sword resting against the man's shoulder. She wondered how many people he's killed with it. "Well, he wanted me to learn how to float a ball."

"I suppose that's as good as any place to start," Law said.

"Do we even have a ball?" Zoro asked.

"Just a beach ball," Franky said.

"It would need to be heavier than that," Law said. "Neo?"

Neo nodded.

Eri watched curiously as a green crystal appeared in front of the pirate. Vines slithered out of the glow around the crystal. They twisted, seemingly under just Neo's will, into a tight ball. Her eyes followed the vines they landed down on the deck in front of her.

"Go ahead," Law said. "Float it."

Eri clenched her hands on her lap. Her eyes still locked on the vine ball. She swallowed hard.

"Come on, Eri," Luffy said. "Float the ball."

Eri couldn't bring her eyes up to Luffy. She couldn't look at anyone. Her eyes were locked in fear as she continued to stare at the ball in front of her. Her vision blurred. She slumped forward in her chair. Hands found their way to her shoulders to keep her from falling out. A distant voice called out to her. It said, "Hey! Eri?! What's wrong? What happened?!"

"Let me look at her," another voice said.

"What's wrong with her, Chopper?" a third voice asked.

Her vision cleared. Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp were circled around her.

"Eri?" Luffy asked, his eyes full of concerned.

"Sorry," Eri muttered.

"What happened?" Luffy asked.

"I don't…know," Eri lied. Her gut twisted. Why couldn't she just tell them the truth?

"You should have told us you were afraid of the wind," Law said drawing everyone's eyes to him.

"What? You're afraid of the wind?" Usopp asked.

Eri gulped and nodded.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Luffy asked.

"I don't…" Eri looked at Law. "How did you know?"

"Because you had that exact same look that Neo use to have when I first taught her how to use her crystals," Law said.

"You were afraid?" Eri turned her eyes to Neo. "You don't look it."

"She's not now," Law said. "But she was back then."

Neo's cheeks tinted pink a little bit. She looked up at Law. Eri wasn't sure, but they seemed to be communicating in some secret language. They were closer than she could imagine. That was obvious. Then Law nodded. He looked back at Eri and said, "We should talk before we continued with your training."

"Okay," Eri said, unsure of what he wanted to talk about. But she patiently waited until the two Heart Pirates were sitting down in front of her.

"A few years ago I found Neo," Law started. "And she wasn't like she is today. She was scared. People abused her emotionally, mentally, and physically."

Eri glanced at Neo. She never would have guessed that. But she did notice that would have a big affect on someone and would probably explain why she was so shy.

"I took her in," Law continued. "Because of the abuse she suffered, she didn't trust anyone and she tried to kill herself many times. It took a while for my crew and I to figure out what was going on with her. You see…" He paused. Hesitated before continuing. "Neo's not human."

"What?" Eri breathed, her eyes back on Neo.

"I'm an Elemental." Neo summoned one of each of her crystals.

Eri's eyes widened at the crystals. One was light blue, one dark blue, one red, and the other green. Clearly they represented the elements of water, fire, earth, and air.

"She too was scared of using the elements because of all the abuse she suffered," Law said. "But also because she lost control over her crystals when she was just a kid and destroyed an entire island, killing all but one person who lived there. Eventually, I managed to get her confidence built back up and now she's a pro at controlling her crystals."

"Neo's also the princess of her people," Luffy said.

"Straw Hat!" Law snapped, making Eri jump. "We weren't going to tell her that!"

"Why not? She's our friend," Luffy said. "She deserves to know."

"It's fine, Law," Neo said. "Not like it's a secret anymore anyway since Dressrosa."

"Dressrosa," Eri murmured. "That's right. I did read about you two in the newspaper. I guess I was just too worried about Luffy to noticed what it said about you." She looked at Neo. "Are you really…"

Neo smiled.

Eri couldn't contain her gasp when she saw butterfly like wings appear behind Neo's back. They were ombre blue and completely faded away before reaching Neo's back.

"These wings and this solar crystal," A yellow crystal appeared, "are symbols of my birth right as my people's royal."

"I don't understand," Eri said. "You're a princess. Why are you a pirate?"

"Because my home island was betrayed by one who was trusted," Neo said. "He allowed himself to be taken over by the darkness crystal. The darkness crystal is like a poison that turns my people dark and evil. I was just a baby when the betrayal happened. My godfather, Shanks, helped my family escape. I was born on his ship. When my people attacked us, they had my brother, Kailen, escape with me. Unfortunately, he lost me at one point and I had to grow up among the humans."

"So you didn't know anything about yourself or your past," Eri guessed.

"That's right." Neo nodded. "It wasn't until a few years ago that I finally was able to learn about who and what I was when the Dark Elementals found me again. I was able to purify them and the darkness crystal with my solar crystal here." The crystal vanished. "During the time Law was gaining my trust, I ended up bonding with him. We can feel each other's pain. With all that we went through together and how much I came to love him and our crew, I couldn't stay on my home island. So we went through a commitment ceremony to satisfy my people. They're very strict in their beliefs. Sometime after than we got married and now are expecting a child."

"I see," Eri said.

"We can help you get over your fear if you will let us," Law said.

"Why are you so afraid of the wind anyway?" Franky asked.

"I don't know," Eri said. "I just am."

"Did you have a bad experience with wind?" Robin asked.

"No." Eri shook her head. "I don't think so."

"You don't need to have a bad experience with the wind to be afraid of it," Usopp said. "Trust me, I know."

"You would," Sanji said. "You're afraid of everything."

"Hey! I am not!" Usopp yelled, pressing his nose against Sanji's cheek.

"No, you just make up fake illnesses for the heck of it!" Sanji said.

"Take that back!" Usopp said. "I get sick a lot! Big deal!"

"Being a coward isn't an illness," Sanji said.

Eri sat back and observed the two men arguing. She's never had an argument like that before. If she ever raised her voice, her parents would have her sedated for her _protection_. It made her sick thinking about it. She wished she could argue with people like Sanji and Usopp were doing. They had a real relationship with each other. She didn't have that. And never would.

"Time to get back to training," Law said. "We have a long way to go if you're going to protect yourself from enemies."

Eri sighed. Never in her life did she ever think she would have enemies. It made her wonder how much danger she and her family were going to be in now once she returned home.

"Instead of trying to float the ball do something a little smaller," Law said. "Form a small twister in the palm of your hand."

"I'll…I'll try," Eri said. With a deep breath, she lifted her palm up. She gulped. Her heart thundered against her chest. Her mind began to spin. Her body grew cold. She couldn't do it.

"It's all right, Eri," Neo said. A light blue crystal appeared along with a cool breeze. "I won't let you get hurt. If you lose control then I'll help you."

"You can trust her, Eri," Luffy said.

Eri's eyes when to his. She could easily see how much Luffy care for and trusted Neo. It made her stomach and chest burn and the corner of her lips threatened to curl down into a frown. Then she felt so petty. Neo was married. Neo was only friends with Luffy. She had no reason to be jealous. So why was she?

"You can do it, Eri," Chopper said.

"We're rooting for you," Usopp added, both his thumbs up in the air.

Eri scanned her eyes over the pirates. They all seemed to be cheering for her despite most not actually saying anything. Well, with the exception for Zoro. He just sat solemnly back against the mast watching with what she thought was an annoyed expression on his face. Forcing her eyes away from him, she exhaled. "All right. I'll try it."

"Yeah!" Luffy nodded.

Eri looked at her palm. Closing her eyes, she tried to feel out for the wind like she did the first time. It felt like an hour had passed before she felt the wind pick up around her. At first, she thought it was Neo doing it. But then she realized the wind was coming from her. It felt like the wind was coming out of her earrings. She could feel the wind brushing across her cheeks and gathered into her palm. She cracked an eye open and saw it. A small swirl of wind was spinning in her hand. A startled gasp shot out of her lips. The whirlwind picked up and shot out over the deck. She closed her eyes tightly. Images of seeing her friends flying off the ship filled her mind. She could see Luffy landing in the water and drowning because she was too afraid to control it. Suddenly, the wind vanished. She opened her eyes to find her friends were still on the deck. Neo had stopped the wind.

"See?" Law said. "Neo has you covered. There's nothing for you to be afraid of."

Eri sighed. Neo might have had her covered but that still didn't do anything for her fear.

"You're more afraid of the wind than I thought," Law said.

"I'm sorry," Eri replied.

"Don't worry about it," Law said. "We'll just try something else. Neo, use your winds and fly her around or something."

Neo nodded. "Are you okay with that, Eri? It might help you to spend time with the wind to see that it's not going to hurt you."

"I guess so," Eri said with a shrug.

"Then just relax," Neo said. "I'm in control. The wind isn't going to hurt you."

"Okay." Eri nodded. "Do it."

Neo nodded. She summoned one wind crystal and wrapped a gently breeze around them.

Eri's heart continued to thunder in her chest. The veins under her skin felt like they were solid ice. She tightly closed her eyes. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to be near the wind. She wanted this to be over with. This had to end. Grabbing her head, she screamed, "Stop! Just stop it!"

The wind vanished. Eri panted heavily. Her mind spinning wildly along side her stomach.

"Hey, you did great, Eri," Luffy said, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Eri shook her head. She knew she didn't do great at all.

"You should let Neo fly you," he said.

"No!" Eri jerked her eyes to him. "No!"

"Come on. It'll be fun," Luffy said. "And I'll be right there beside you."

"I-I…I can't," Eri stuttered.

"Aw, come on," Luffy said.

"Leave her alone, Luffy," Zoro said. "If she said she can't, then she can't."

"Actually, that might not be a bad idea," Sanji said.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro asked.

"Luffy and Eri have known each other longer than the rest of us," Sanji explained. "If he's with her while Neo's flying them around then she should have a better chance at getting use to the wind. I'm assuming," He looked at Eri, "that whenever the wind blew too much you headed inside. Am I right?"

Eri nodded.

"Then there you go," Sanji said, tapping the burnt end of his cigarette off. "She needs to get use to the wind being around her before she can start using it."

"That's a good idea," Law said. "We don't know why she's afraid of the wind so she needs to get use to it first."

"Are you ready?" Neo asked.

"No," Eri replied.

"It'll be fine, Eri," Luffy said.

Eri barely got her eyes back to the captain before he took her hands in his. Her thundering heart made it hard for her to think.

"Okay, Neo," Luffy said.

Eri opened her mouth to protect, but before she could their bodies were lifted gently into that air. A startled gasp escaped her lips. She clenched her eyes shut tightly while maintaining a death grip on Luffy's hands. Then she felt comfortable warmth around her. Her eyes opened open to find that Luffy had embraced her. Heat rushed to her face.

"It's all right, Eri," Luffy whispered softly. "I promise I won't let anything hurt you. You're safe with me."

"Luffy…" Was all Eri managed to say before she pressed her eyes into his shoulder. She felt safe. As long as he was with her, she knew she would be safe. And, who knows, maybe she would be able to get her talismans under control.

"I trust you, Luffy," Eri whispered back.

"Then fly with me," Luffy said. He pulled away from her. His smile bright as the sun.

Eri swallowed before slowly nodded at him.

Luffy moved away from her a little bit. He nodded to Neo.

Understand his silent gesture, Neo started moving the two around more.

Eri gasped. Neo's skills with her wind control were off the charts. Though she didn't want to think about it, it made her wonder how good she would be, assuming she got over her fear. Keeping her eyes locked onto Luffy, her heart managed to slow back down to its normal pace. And before she knew it, she was being lowered down into her chair.

"I think that's enough for today," Law said.

"I have refreshments," Sanji announced.

Eri looked over at the blonde man. Sure enough there were sparkling drinks and cookies laid out on the table that Robin and Nami was sitting at.

"Let's eat!" Luffy said. He grabbed Eri's chair and pushed her over to it.

"You know, I still can't figure out why the Navy is involved in this," Usopp said a few minutes later. "I mean no offense, but it doesn't make sense that so many soldiers were at your house. Do you know, Eri?"

"Well, I have an uncle who's in the Navy," Eri said, lowering her cookie from her mouth. "And my parents are fairly rich so they have had dealings with the Navy before."

"I see," Usopp said. "I guess that would explain a little. But it still seems too much for the Navy to come search for one person, no offense."

"I understand," Eri said. "I don't really get it either."

"So how did you and Luffy meet if you never left your home and he never came to see you?" Chopper asked.

"I wrote to him," Eri said.

"Luffy told us that before. But how is that possible if you never met him?" Zoro asked. The man was still sitting down on the bench with his arms behind his head as he leaned against the mast.

"Oh, well, um…" Eri kneaded her eyebrows and tired to figure it out. "I'm not sure. I just remember writing Luffy for the first time. It was a few months after I got sick and this happened." She rubbed her legs as her mind wondered back to several years ago.

 _Eri was crying in her room. The maids had been long dismissed. Her parents had finally left her in peace, well sort of. She was just a child. A child who didn't understand why her legs didn't work like they use to. She wanted them to move. She wanted them to dance her around the rooms again. But they wouldn't. No matter how hard she tried to get them to move. They just wouldn't move again._

 _Happiness had been ripped away from her. All she knew was that she wanted to dance. She heard so much praise on how she was just like her mother. And how she was going to become a famous dancer herself. She wanted that. It was her dream to dance. It was all she wanted. Now that dream was shattered. No longer was it obtainable. She wanted to die. She didn't want to live anymore._

 _"Now, now," a gentle voice said to her._

 _Eri lifted her eyes from her pillow. The man was standing in her doorway with a smile on his face. Forcing herself to sit up, she brushed her tears away. "Uncle, what are you doing here?"_

 _"Do I need a reason to come see my favorite girl?" he asked._

 _"I'm not her any more," Eri said._

 _"Oh? Well, you look like her," he said. His sword tapped on the ground as he came to sit on the bed._

 _"Uncle Fuji," Eri said. "How can I be her when I can't dance?"_

 _"I see," Uncle Fuji said. "You think that you can no longer be the girl you once were because you can't dance anymore."_

 _"Is that bad?" Eri asked._

 _"Some people might think so," Uncle Fuji said._

 _"I am bad," Eri said._

 _"No, you're just hurt and confused." He pulled her onto his lap. "Maybe you can't dance anymore, but you can still do things."_

 _"I can't," Eri said. "I'm broken. I no longer feel happy. I am a caged bird."_

 _"Maybe for now you feel that way, but you are still very free," Fuji said._

 _"How am I free?" Eri asked. She looked up to his wrinkled face. He seem so old yet so young at the same time. "Mother and Father won't let me go out anymore."_

 _"Because you are the wind," Fuji said. "And the wind was never meant to be contained. You'll see." With her in his arms, he stood up from the bed and walked over to her vanity. Pulling the chair out from underneath it, he sat down with her and pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. "Here. Why don't you write a letter?"  
"To who?" Eri asked._

 _"Write it to someone who'll make you happy," Fuji said. "Then make a wish for this letter to go to that person and it will by tomorrow morning."_

 _"That sounds silly," Eri said._

 _"Maybe it does," Fuji said with a chuckle. "But give it a try. I know through this you'll find happiness."_

 _"Fine," Eri said. Turning to the blank page, she picked up the pencil. "What should I write?"_

 _"Anything you want," Fuji said._

 _Eri thought about it for a minute then started to drag the pencil over the paper. In big, sloppy letters she wrote:_

 _ **Dear whoever gets this letter,**_

 _ **My name is Eri. I am sad right now. I'm looking for a friend to make me feel better. If you want to be my friend write back to me.**_

 _ **Eri**_

" _How's that?" Eri asked._

 _"Very good," Fuji said. "Now the wish."_

 _Eri closed her eyes and folded her hands. Repeating what her uncle had told her, she wished for this letter to go to whoever would bring her happiness again._

 _"That's a good girl," Fuji said as he stood up with her still in his arms. He left the room with her. "Now, let's get you some cookies and milk."_

 _Later that night, Eri was tucked into bed by her uncle. He said, "Now you go to sleep. Things will look better in the morning when you've received your letter from your new friend."_

 _"Okay," Eri said. She closed her eyes until she heard her uncle leave her room. Sitting up she cast a glance over at the letter still on her vanity. She had no idea if it was really going to be gone tomorrow, but she laid down and quickly fell asleep. The next morning she woke up. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes until she remembered the letter. Pulling herself into her wheelchair, she rolled over to her vanity and gasped. Her letter was gone. And in its place was a different one. In big, bold, sloppy letters, worse than hers, it said:_

 _ **Dear Eri,**_

 _ **Yes! I will be your friend! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! And I'm going to be King of the Pirates! Write to me soon!**_

 _ **Monkey D. Luffy**_

"I couldn't believe it when I saw the letter," Eri said. "I was so excited that I told everyone in the house about it. But no one other than my uncle believed me about it."

"That sounds kind of creepy to have a letter disappear only to be replaced with another one," Usopp said. "Luffy, how did you even get your letters to her?"

"I don't know," Luffy said. "They just disappeared sometime after I was finished writing. I had left the room and when I came back later it was gone."

"This doesn't make any sense," Zoro said. "Letters can't just disappear."

"Then how would you explain it?" Sanji asked.

"I don't know. Someone had to mail the letters for them," Zoro said. "Don't parents do that all the time for their kids? Make things happen so it looks like magic is involved or something?"

"But we didn't," Eri said. "Or at least no one did for me. I tried to tell many people about then but they never believed me."

"Then your uncle mailed them," Zoro said.

"And have them arrive the next day or just within a few hours?" Sanji shook his head. "Not possible. Besides she said her uncle is in the Navy. He couldn't have mailed them if he wasn't around her."

"My uncle hasn't been in the Navy his whole life," Eri said. "He's only been in it for a few years. But you're right. He didn't live with us so it's impossible for him to have mailed my letters."

"I only told my brothers. They had no interest in my letters and neither did the bandits who raised us," Luffy said. "And then I told my friends of course. But you haven't sent the letters for me either."

"Well, I guess it's just a mystery then," Robin said.

"Why don't we test it?" Nami asked.

"How?" Usopp questioned.

"Is that even possible?" Neo asked. She slipped her hand into Law's while leaning against his side. He shrugged when she looked at him.

"Maybe. We can have Eri send Luffy a letter and see what happens," Nami explained.

"But they're on the same ship," Usopp said.

"Luffy can go somewhere else," Nami said. "Eri can write the letter here and we'll watch and see if it goes to Luffy."

"That might work." Usopp shrugged.

"I got some paper in our room," Nami said. She stood up from her seat and wondered up into the women's quarters. Then returned a minute later with a piece of paper and a pencil. "Luffy, go to the library."

"Okay," Luffy said. Pushing himself from his seat, he wondered up the stairs and disappeared.

Eri watched him go then turned to the paper that had been placed in front of her. She picked up the pencil and wrote a quick little not that read: Hey, Luffy. This is our test letter. Then she sat the pencil down. "Now what?"

"Let's just leave the letter there and ignore it," Nami said. "Have you ever been in the room when the letter disappeared?"

Eri shook her head.

"This is ridiculous," Law murmured.

Neo smiled and elbowed him in the side. A shrug was his only reply.

"What should we do while we wait?" Brook asked.

"Maybe we should move the letter into our room," Robin suggested.

"That's probably a good idea," Nami said. She grabbed the paper and took it and the pencil back to their room before returning.

With nothing of her own to talk about, Eri just sat quietly listening to the casual chatter of the Straw Hats and two Heart Pirates, despite the two Heart Pirates not saying much of anything. Some time after that someone finally noticed that two hours had passed.

"It's been two hours since Eri wrote the letter," Usopp said.

"I go check on it," Nami said, once more leaving the table.

"I'll go check on Luffy," Usopp said.

Eri watched the sniper go. She wondered why Luffy hadn't already returned out of boredom. But then they didn't set a time limit. That was probably why.

"It's still here," Nami announced when she walked out of the room.

Or that could be why. Eri looked up at the navigator as she came back down the stairs. She shrugged when everyone looked at her. "I don't know why it didn't go to him."

"Maybe it knew you were on the same ship?" Franky offered.

"I don't know," Eri said again. And she didn't know. She didn't know anything. "So what now?"

"You should train some more," Law said.

Eri's heart skipped. Her body filled with dread.

"Eri!" Luffy shouted.

The dread inside of her quickly vanished when she heard his voice. She relaxed. Looking up she watched him dash down the stairs and over to reclaim the empty seat beside her.

"I was so bored!" Luffy said, rejoining her side. "So what now?"

"Don't listen to him," Usopp said, walking down the stairs. "He was fast asleep when I went into the library."

"She's going to train," Law said. "This time I want you to form a small whirlwind before dinner."

"I'll…I'll try," Eri said. Holding out her hand, palm up, she tried to envision a small whirlwind in her hand. It wasn't possible. The second she felt the wind stirring around her, she broke her concentration. After the thirtieth time trying, she sighed in defeat and let her hand drop to her lap. This was impossible. She jumped when Luffy's warm hand appeared over hers. With pink tinted cheeks, she lifted her eyes to his.

"You can do it," Luffy told her. "I know you can. Just hold my hand."

Eri swallowed. Her hand turned over, seemingly of its own accord, and clasped around his. Keeping her eyes locked with his, she turned her other hand over. Several seconds later, she felt her hair being teased by the wind. Daring to pull her eyes away from his, she looked down to find she had created a whirlwind in her hand. She barely heard Luffy laughed. She barely noticed him leaning forward. But she easily caught what he whispered in her ear.

"That's my girl," he said. "I knew you could do it. I'm proud of you."

"Wow! That's amazing! She really did it!" Chopper said.

"Fantastic!" Brook added.

"Super!" Franky said.

"Let's party!" Luffy said.

"Seriously?" Nami said. "It's good she managed to do this, but I don't think it's party worthy."

"Of course it is!" Luffy said.

"You're out of your mind," Nami said.

"Captain's orders!" Luffy threw his hands into the air. "It's party time! Sanji!"

"I'm on it, Captain," Sanji said. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he wondered up to the kitchen and disappeared inside.

Much to her surprised, it didn't take long at all for the pirate crews to have a party going. Several of the Heart Pirates had wondered out onto their own deck and over to the Sunny's deck with the help of Neo. A couple Heart Pirates were playing a song that someone said was named Bink's Brew. She was unfamiliar with the tune but found that she liked it well enough. Currently she was sitting with Nami and Robin while the others were scattered around the deck or dancing. Luffy was one of the many dancing. Her heart ached upon never getting to have the chance to dance with him. She would have loved to do that.

For a second she wondered if she could use her control over wind, if she ever got it, to dance with him. Or could she dance again with it by herself? Dropping her eyes to her legs, she stared at them. Surely that could be possible, right? Neo appeared to have enough control to steady their bodies when she flew people. So it should be possible for her to wrap the wind around her legs and dance that way. She swallowed. She wanted to try using her winds again. Turning her palms up, she stared at them. Slowly feeling out for the wind before swirls appeared in her hands.

Her spirits lifted a bit when she seemed to easily create a swirl of wind in each hand. Carefully, she dispersed the wind and glanced around. It appeared that no one noticed what she had done. Well, no one except Neo since she was connected to nature. Heat rushed to her cheeks when the blue haired pirate locked eyes with her. With her heart thumping against her chest, she hoped that Neo didn't tell anyone about what she did. She didn't think she'd be able to handle everyone turning their attention on her right now. She relaxed when Neo just turned back to Penguin and started talking with the man.

Leaning back in her chair she got to thinking that maybe the desire to dance with Luffy would help her get over her fears of the wind. But that still didn't answer _why_ she was afraid of the wind in the first place. There had to be a reason. People didn't just develop fears out of nowhere. Or did they? She wasn't sure. She couldn't even think of a single person who could give her then answer. Or perhaps this was one of those types of questions where you'd get a different answer depending on who she asked. Either way she probably would never figure it out. She turned her attention back to the song the pirates were playing and let herself get lost in the beat.


	7. Taken

Taken

"Hm." Neo hummed as she sat on the railing of the Sunny. Law was standing beside her with his arms crossed and his hat over his eyes. She watched intently while Eri floated around the vine ball she had made yesterday for this exercise. Luffy was, like he had been, by her side and holding her hand. Eri seem to be able to handle the wind better when Luffy was with her and holding her hand. She was glad Eri had Luffy as a friend. This was obviously the way they needed to help Eri. It also made her wonder what Eri was thinking about last night when she formed two small twisters in her hands. She wanted to tell someone about it but got the feeling she should keep quiet. So she did with the exception of telling Law later that night. "She seems to be doing better today."

Law grunted in response.

"Oh, stop acting like you don't care," Neo said, shoving him lightly on the shoulder.

"I only care that she gets control over the wind so she doesn't hurt you or our baby," Law said. "Other than that, I don't care about her at all."

"Of course," Neo said, turning her eyes back to Eri. "Though I can't help but keep wondering why she's so afraid of the wind. Do you think it's possible that she has been hurt by the wind? She was only a child when she first started to write letters to Luffy. So it's possible that she did have a bad experience with the wind. And it's possible that her winds are the reason for her and Luffy's letters from going back and forth."

"Are you suggesting her winds took the letters to Straw Hat?" Law asked.

"I don't know," Neo replied. "I mean, it's possible since magic is clearly involved. I just can't figure out _how_ it could happen. Eri said she never was in the room when the letters got switched. And she asked for the letter to be taken to someone. If she had to ask then there had to be another party involved."

"Well, maybe it was someone else who did send the letters," Law said. "Someone that's human."

"Possibly, but who could it have been? Maybe an Elemental knew about it?" Neo asked knowing she probably wouldn't get an answer.

…

Eri was concentrating on the vine ball in front of her, unaware of the conversation between the two Heart Pirates. She had no idea how she was actually doing what she was doing. All she knew was she was doing it. And it was all thanks to Luffy. He managed to calm her down. As long as he was beside her, holding her hand, she knew she could do this. And she was. She didn't even care that the rest of the Straw Hat crew was watching her.

"You're amazing, Eri," Luffy said.

"Th-thank you, Luffy," Eri stuttered.

 _"You have to get out of here!"_

"Huh?" Luffy and Eri asked at the same time. They looked at each other, confused. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Chopper asked.

"Someone said we have to get out of here," Luffy said as he looked around for the voice.

"I didn't hear anyone say that," Usopp said.

"You're imagining things," Zoro said.

Suddenly, loud bangs shot out into the air causing the Sunny rocked violently when something hit the water beside the vessel. A few of the Straw Hats screamed while they all grabbed onto something to steady themselves.

Eri panicked until she felt her chair being lifted into the air. She glanced over at Neo who nodded at her.

"What the heck was that?!" Nami asked.

"There's two Navy ships behind us!" Franky shouted out.

"What?!" Usopp screamed.

"Where did they come from?!" Brook asked.

"I have no idea," Franky said. "But they're firing cannons at us!"

Three more cannon balls hit the water. The ship rocked again.

"Luffy! What do we do?!" Franky asked. "Should we fight?!"

"Let's-" Luffy cut himself off when young man with blonde hair landed on the deck suddenly.

"Who the heck are you?!" Zoro demanded while pulling out two of his swords.

"Skylar?!" Eri gasped.

"Your brother?" Luffy eyed the new man on his ship.

"How did you even get here?" Sanji asked. "The Navy ships aren't close enough for you to have jumped over."

"I was riding along with the Navy," Skylar said. "Once I saw your ship I took a smaller boat and rowed over here to reclaim my sister."

"You rowed all the way over here?" Sanji looked back at the Navy ship and kneaded his eyebrows.

"Hey! There's another ship coming up fast!" Franky yelled out.

"What?!" Luffy asked. "Who's is it?! Another Navy ship?!"

"I don't know!" Franky replied. "There's no Jolly Roger, but it's certainly not another Navy ship!"

"It must be those men that took Eri then," Sanji said.

Eri felt her chest tightened. They were trapped. There was no way they could get away from two Navy ships and Boss.

"Well, Captain?" Sanji asked.

Eri turned her eyes to the Straw Hat cook. He was so calm, one hand in his pocket and the other on his cigarette. She had no idea how he could remain so calm in this situation. They were pirates with the Navy on their tail. If they got caught they would be in serious trouble.

"Tra?" Luffy looked over at Law and Neo.

"It's your call, Straw Hat," Law said. "If you want to fight, then we'll fight."

"No," Luffy said. "I don't want to risk losing Eri to them until she has a handle on her talismans. We run. Franky!"

"You got it, bro!" Franky said. "Everyone! Prepare for a Coop de Burst!"

"Get the sails!" Nami shouted.

"On it!" Usopp and Chopper, in his human form, were already climbing up to the pull in the sails.

"Neo, let's get the sub," Law said.

"Okay." Neo nodded.

Eri watched the Heart Pirates turn back to their own ship. Neo had summoned a couple of her wind crystals and lifted the yellow sub out of the water. She marveled at the control the Elemental had.

"Here we go! Coop de Burst!" Franky yelled out.

Eri gasped when the ship suddenly went flying again. She squeezed her eyes shut until she knew the ship had finally landed back into the water.

"How in the world did the Navy and that boss guy find us so fast?!" Usopp shrieked.

"That was so scary!" Chopper said.

"It is odd that they caught up with us so quickly," Brook said. "However, the Navy could have had ships in the vicinity all ready. They could have just used transponder snails to pass along information. Do you think that Boss also has more crewmembers that are in the area?"

"It's possible that he does," Sanji said.

"Or it's possible that Boss has talismans," Law said.

"Well, like I said before, Boss has a talisman that can track other talismans. Most likely he could have other talismans that could bring his here this fast," Eri said. "Unless the Navy has one too, I have no idea how _they_ managed to get here so fast." Her eyes drifted to her brother, her forgotten brother who looked very unpleased. "Hello, Skylar."

"Don't you hello me," Skylar said, holding back the hiss that was forcing its way out. "Do you have any idea how worried mother and father have been? Why are you with these pirates?"

"Well, they saved me," Eri replied.

"You can't be serious," Skylar said, looking at her like she lost her mind.

"It's true." Eri waved her hand at Luffy. "This is Luffy. The one I've been writing to."

"Luffy? As in the pirate who you've claimed to be writing to since you were a child?" Skylar looked over at Luffy.

"That's me!" Luffy smiled.

"Get real," Skylar said, ignoring the pirate and turning his eyes back to his sister. "You've been kidnapped by pirates. I bet they're just holding you for ransom like those other men."

"But they're not…" Eri's voice trailed off.

"Hey! We did not kidnap her!" Luffy shouted. "Eri's my friend! She needed help and I came to save her! We're trying to help her now!"

"Help her?" Skylar glared at the pirate. "If you cared about her at all you would have returned her home immediately! But you pirates only care about your treasure! How much were you going to ask for her?!"

"Skylar, please," Eri said.

"Enough, Eri," Skylar said. "You have no idea how much danger you are in. Pirates are not your friends."

"But they are. Just like Shanks," Eri said.

Skylar snorted. "Shanks, deep down, is like all pirates. If it came to it, he would use you as a hostage or sell you off for money too."

"Hey! Don't talk about Shanks like that!" Luffy snapped. "Shanks cares about his friends! If he knows Eri then he cares about her and would never do anything to hurt her!"

"Don't give me that bull crap, _pirate_!" Skylar snapped. "I've heard it all before! And I've _seen_ what you did to Enies Lobby and so many other places! You're not my sister's friend and you'll never be! I'm taking my sister back as soon as we land on an island!"

"Well, you're going to have a long wait!" Luffy said. "Because we're not stopping until Eri has mastered her talismans!"

"Talismans?" Skylar blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"These earrings." Luffy pointed to the earrings on Eri. "Eri can control the wind through them. We're helping her get control and stop being afraid of the wind."

Skylar looked at Luffy like he had two heads before laughing. "You can't be serious! There's no such thing as talismans! And there's no island hidden in the winds!"

"How did you know about that?" Zoro asked.

"It's a legend that several people have heard about," Skylar said. "We were told about it as kids. My sister can be a bit…unstable."

Eri clenched her hands in her lap. She wasn't unstable at all.

"She use to pretend all the time that she was playing on that island with her fairy friends," Skylar said. "But enough is enough." He looked at Eri. "I'm taking you home, sister. You've had a hard past few days. I know you're tired and need to rest."

"But I'm fine," Eri said, unable to meet anyone's gaze. She didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay on the Sunny with Luffy. "I'm…"

"Don't speak now," Skylar said. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm here now. Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry."

"Can we just tie him up?" Usopp asked.

"Skylar does seem to be causing a lot of problems here," Chopper said. "We can't let him take Eri away right now."

"Well, I am taking her," Skylar said. "She's my sister. I know what's best for her."

"You don't know anything! There's nothing for her to be worried about!" Luffy said. "She's been safe since she's been on my ship!"

"Let it go, pirate," Skylar said. "I can see now that you haven't hurt her at all. But I am taking her home now."

"You can't do that!" Luffy said. "Some real bad guys are after her!"

"I know that," Skylar said. "But all they're after is money. We found a ransom note after all."

Eri looked up. She noticed Skylar was talking as if he has met Luffy before. She then remembered that Luffy had stopped by her home. That's how he found out she had been taken. They must have bumped into Skylar before leaving there.

"There's nothing to worry about anymore," Skylar said. "Our parents have talked to the Navy. They're going to set up Navy soldiers at our house for now on to protect Eri."

Eri clenched her teeth. With Navy soldiers around she would be even more of a prisoner. There had to be a way out of this. She glanced around at the pirates hoping that they would have a solution for this. No one spoke up. Her hope quickly dwindled. They were going to return her home anyway. It was her fate to always be a prisoner.

"Look we can understand why you are worried about her and want to take her back home," Nami said, "but it really would be a better idea if you let us help her get control over her talismans."

"Not that again." Skylar crossed his arms.

"It's true! Go ahead, Eri! Show him!" Luffy said.

Eri looked at Luffy then down at the deck. She didn't feel like it. Luffy's hand took hers once more. She looked up at him.

"I'm right here," Luffy said.

Eri nodded. At least if she proved to her brother that she really could control the wind then she could still stay here for a while. Turning her palm up, she worked to summon a small whirlwind again. Minutes later, nothing happened. She was about to give up when her brother snorted, but then it happened. The whirlwind appeared in her hand.

"That's…"Skylar said, his arms dropping to his sides.

"See? We told you. Eri _can_ control the wind," Luffy said with a bright smile.

"And we really do believe that it would be best for her to stay with us until she's gotten better control over it," Robin said. She gestured to Neo, when she and Law returned to the ship, as the young man looked at her. "Neo is a master at controlling the wind. She's helping Eri learn how to manipulate it."

"Well," Skylar said, "I suppose it would be all right for her to stay for a little while longer." Her crossed his arms back over his chest and glared at each one of the pirates. "But I will be staying with her. And I will be watching you all very closely. If I think any of you are putting her in danger I'm going to stop you."

"That'll be fine," Luffy said.

"Good." Skylar nodded firmly. He then turned back to Neo. "And if you do anything that will hurt her, I'll-"

"Room. Shambles." Law formed his Room. He cut off Skylar's head and warped it into his hand.

"What the heck?!" Skylar shrieked. "What did you do to me?!"

"I'll only giving you this warning once so listen carefully." Law glared down at Skylar. "I do not and will not tolerate anyone making threats against Neo. If you do it again, I _will_ kill you. Understand?"

"Law's very protective of Neo," Sanji said. He leaned against the railing before rubbing his cheek against Neo's. "But then we all are. So his warning goes for us too. If you try to threaten or hurt Neo we all will kill you."

"F-fine," Skylar said, a bead of sweat running down his face. "Just…just put me back to normal."

Law tossed his head to Usopp, who looked none to thrilled to have to touch a severed talking head. Still the sniper put Skylar's head back on his shoulders and walked away while wiping his hands on his pants.

"So gross," Usopp mumbled.

"So let's see what you can do," Skylar said.

"All right, Eri," Law said. "Start again."

Eri nodded. And once more she started floating the ball of vines around for a while. After that, Neo created an obstacle course with her crystals so she could work on controlling the wind better.

…

Eri was sleeping restlessly in Nami and Robin's bed. She was so worried about her brother taking her back home that she couldn't sleep. And she was even more worried that all of her tossing and turning was going to wake her two bunkmates up. With a mental sigh, she pushed herself up and shifted into her wheelchair. A quietly as she could, she rolled over to the door and left the room. The cool night air was the first to greet her. She glanced around the deck to see who would be on duty to night. But she didn't see anyone. Her eyebrows kneaded together. She knew that someone should have been out here. At least her brother should have been since he objected to sharing a room with the pirates. So where were they? A cool chill sent a wave of dread over her. Her heart took a sharp beat when a shadow appeared over her, casting down to the deck below, looking long and menacing. Her voice just barely over a whisper when she said, "No…not again…how?"

The shadow jumped. A thud. He was behind her.

She couldn't fight. She couldn't even think to fight. Her brain shut off. Her mouth was covered with a white cloth again. She blacked out.

…

Eri's head throbbed as her senses started coming back to her as she pulled out of her deep sleep. She expected to smell the room she was in on that island, but instead she smelled damp wood, mold, and moss. The room swayed. Apparently they had her on a ship this time. She figured they saw no point in going back to a hideout that people knew about. It was no longer a safe place for them to hide. She forced back a groan and pushed herself into a sitting position.

"How are you feeling?" Pratt asked.

Eri didn't want to look at him. But she forced herself to do it. He looked like a scolded puppy. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to yell at him. Her voice didn't let her. Instead she just sighed. "He'll never stop. Will he?"

"He won't," Pratt said.

Eri noticed something else in his voice. She couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly but she knew she wasn't going to like it. She said, "Just tell me."

"He has your brother and Straw Hat," Pratt said, his eyes locked onto the floor.

Eri's chest tightened. Her lungs appeared to vanish from her lungs. These madmen had her brother and Luffy. What were they planning to do with them? Were they going to hurt them? Kill them?

"They won't be hurt if you do as you're told," Pratt said as if reading her mind.

She wanted to ask how they had managed to get onto the ship and take out the pirates as easily as they did. But it was obvious. They used gas. It worked against her guards. Of course it would work on the pirates no matter how strong they were. She wondered how long they would be sleeping. It didn't matter. By the time the others woke up, they would be long gone. The Straw Hats and Heart Pirates wouldn't know which way they should go to look for them. They were all on their own. She knew Luffy was strong. But could he get them out of this? She might, just maybe, be able to fly them away from Boss and his goons. "Where are they?"

"Waiting for you," Pratt said. "They're out on the deck. Your wheelchair's out there too."

Eri gritted her teeth and clenched the blanket that was over her legs. She was going to have to be carried. Looking down, she noticed that she wasn't wearing any other talismans. She had access to her winds. A tick of caution entered into her. Why wouldn't Boss lock her magic? Was it because she was still scared of the wind? Because he had Luffy and Skylar as prisoners? She didn't know which. It was probably both. "Take me to them."

"Okay," Pratt murmured. He didn't move. He sat there for a few seconds before pushing himself to his feet and walked over to the bed.

Eri stiffened when he put his arms around her. He lifted her with ease. Her heart was pounding in her chest as he moved her towards the door. Carefully, he opened it, stepping out into the hall. They wondered down the empty, semidark hallway before coming to the open door at the end. She blinked the salty air away from her eyes. Her heart clenched tight in her chest again when she saw her brother and Luffy bound with chains that were linked to the mast. They were barely visible in the half covered moon. Seeing Luffy she instantly knew they were using sea prism stone on him. His body was slumped against the mast. His eyes filled with fury upon seeing her.

"Eri!" Luffy called out with exhaustion. "Are you…hurt?"

"I'm fine, Luffy," Eri said. The second she was in her chair, she grabbed the handrim and rolled towards Luffy and Skylar. She jerked to a stop when Mitch and Jaq stepped in her way.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Mitch said.

"You're not allowed to go near them," Jaq added.

"Things are going to be a little different from this point on," Boss said.

Eri turned to face him. She was too upset to even notice he was standing there.

"You're going to take us immediately to Anemone," Boss said.

"What?" Eri breathed, her body going ice cold.

"You heard me," Boss said. "I won't waste time with setbacks anymore. The Navy is breathing down our necks. I can't wait any longer."

"The Navy?" Eri asked, confused.

"Never mind them," Boss said. "We'll be long gone before they can catch up with us again."

"I…I won't," Eri stuttered. "I-I c-can't."

"Eri, don't listen to them," Luffy said. "You don't have to do anything. Just fly out of here."

"Oh, yes, Eri," Boss said, taunting. "Fly away from here." He pulled out a sword and stuck it up to Luffy's neck. "If you do your friend here and your dear sweet brother will lose their heads."

Eri gritted her teeth. Her eyes watered as she watched Boss hold a sword to Luffy's neck. A sword that could cut his throat, his rubber throat that could easily deflect bullets, but not a sword. Luffy had no defense against a sword. Her stomach lurched.

"Well, what's it going to be?" Boss asked.

"But…I…" Eri started.

"Don't so it, Eri!" Luffy said.

"Shut up, pirate!" Mitch kicked Luffy in the stomach.

Luffy coughed. Lifting up, he glared at Mitch.

Eri swallowed. Her head pounded along with her heart. She had no idea what to do. She couldn't fly. She couldn't take them to Anemone. But she couldn't let her friend and brother get hurt.

"You have until sunrise to decide," Boss said. "If you don't take us to Anemone, I'll kill them."

…

Robin woke up from her slumber. She wasn't sure what had woken her up, but she looked around and found that Eri was no longer in their room. Pushing the blanket off her, she placed her feet on the floor and exited the room. Instantly, she felt something was wrong when the deck was void of people. Looking up to the kitchen, she saw no light on so she knew Sanji wasn't up and had taken Eri in there. So where was she? And where were Chopper and Brook. Those two were suppose to be on watch tonight.

Walking away from the door, she headed up to the helm. A gasp left her lips when she saw Chopper laying on the deck. She ran over to him and placed his head in her lap. "Chopper? Chopper, what happened? Are you all right?"

Chopper didn't move.

"What happened here?" Robin said, looking her friend over. "He doesn't appear injured. I wonder if this is gas. That was how they took our crew on Punk Hazard."

Robin stared at Chopper's furry face. If it really was gas then there was nothing she could do for him. He would wake up when it wore off. Laying him back down on the deck, she went to check on the others. Walking towards the men's quarters she found Brook sitting on the mast bench. He too was fast asleep. She headed on into the men's quarters. Her eyes ran over the sleeping men until she noticed two of them were missing. "Luffy! And Skylar!"

Robin ran out of the room and back to the women's quarters. She grabbed Nami and shook her. "Nami, wake up."

"Hm?" Nami opened her eyes and sat up. "What is it?"

"Eri, Luffy, and Skylar are gone," Robin said. "And the others have been gassed or something. They won't wake up."

"What?!" Nami snapped completely wake. "How?!"

"I don't know," Robin said. "I just woke up and found them in this state."

"Well, who do you think took them?!" Nami asked.

"The same men before are the only obvious choice," Robin said. "They used gas on the guards at Eri's home."

"That would be the easiest way to avoid a fight," Nami said.

Robin nodded. "We can rule out the Navy. I doubt they would pass up a chance to catch pirates."

"But why take Luffy and Skylar?" Nami asked. "Eri's the only one who can use the talismans."

"Most likely they're going to use Luffy and Skylar against her," Robin said.

"That's just stupid!" Nami said. "Eri's afraid of the wind! She can't control it yet!"

"I guess Boss is getting desperate," Robin said. "We should inform the Heart Pirates of what happened."

"Yeah." Nami nodded. "I'll take care of the ship. You go talk to them."

Robin nodded. The two women then left their room, not bothering to change their clothes.

Nami ran up to the helm while Robin crossed her arms and formed and arm bridge over to the sub deck. Walking across her makeshift bridge, she landed on the deck then rushed up to the door. Luckily, they had left it unlocked for her so she went right in. "Hello? Is anyone awake?"

"What's up?" Shachi poked his head up from the stairs. "Robin? What's wrong?"

"Eri, Luffy, and Skylar have been taken," Robin said.

"What?!" Shachi shouted.

"I need to speak with Tra and Neo," Robin said.

"Of course!" Shachi waved for her to follow him. "Come on. I'll take you to their room."

Robin followed. They both remained quiet.

Shachi wanted to ask a million questions but held his tongue. He knew the woman wouldn't want to tell the story more than once. Upon reaching the correct room, he knocked on the door. "Captain! We have a problem!"

A minute later the door opened, revealing a newly wakened Law and Neo. Law said, "What's wrong?"

"We have a problem," Robin said before proceeding to tell them what happened.

"Luffy's been taken?" Neo said. Her head became light, causing her to lean against the doorframe.

"Easy, love," Law said, slipping his arm around her waist.

"What do we do?" Neo asked. "They're long gone by now."

"I don't know," Law said. "Could you sense Eri's winds?"  
"Not if she's too far away," Neo said. "We don't know when they were taken. They could be hours ahead of us."

"And we have no idea which direction they went," Shachi said.

"Then we have no choice but to sit still," Law said.

"But how can we?" Neo asked. "The only reason for them to take Eri is for her to take them to Anemone. She's not ready to use her winds on her own. And Luffy's probably tied up with sea prism stone chains."

"She's got a point, Captain," Shachi said.

"I know," Law said. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "Maybe we can think of a plan to find them."

"I could ask some sea life," Neo said. "It's possible that they saw something."

"All right," Law said. "Let's go."

Neo nodded. The small group of four headed up to the deck. Once there, she summoned her wind crystal and lowered herself into the water. With an air bubble around her head, she called for the sea creatures. "Hello, friends. I need to speak with you."

Several fish swam up to her.

"Did you see another ship that came close to ours?" Neo asked. "Some friends of ours were taken. Oh? You did?! That's great! They went southeast? Thank you so much." She flew back to the deck and dried herself off once her feet touched the deck. "They went southeast."

"Then we have our heading," Law said. "Shachi, go over to the Straw Hats ship and assist them as they need until the rest of their crew wakes up."

"Aye, Captain," Shachi said.

Neo wrapped Shachi and Robin in her winds and lifted them over to the Sunny. "What about us?"

"We can't do much of anything until we catch up Straw Hat," Law said.

"I'll use my crystals," Neo said.

"No, you won't," Law said sternly. "You've been using them way too much lately."

"Law, I have to," Neo said. "You know I won't be able to rest until I know that Luffy is safe."

Law sighed, looking down at the deck.

"Law." Neo cupped his cheek and pulled his eyes to her. "I'm fine." She placed her hand on her stomach. "We're fine. I can do this."

"All right," Law said. "But after you get some sleep."

"Fine." Neo nodded in acceptance. "But don't expect me to sleep very well."

"Oh, you're going to sleep just fine," Law said, guiding her back into the sub by her waist. "Even if I have to drug you."

"Hey!" Neo whacked him on his chest.

Law chuckled. He took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. "I'll rub your back."

"That's better," Neo said.

…

One question rolled around in Eri's head. What should she do? She was trapped. They all were trapped. She couldn't take them to Anemone. She was too scared. And she had no idea on how to actually get them there, even if she wanted to. "Luffy…what do I do?"

"Don't talk to him, Eri," Skylar said. "He's a pirate. He doesn't care about you."

"What?!" Luffy screamed, before his energy was drained again. "Of…of course I care about her. S-she's my…friend."

Skylar scoffed. "Pirates don't have _friends_. They only betray each other. And use each other to get one step farther."

"That's not true," Luffy said.

"Just shut up," Skylar said. "Eri, you have to just take them to Anemone."

"What?" Eri asked.

"Eri, if you don't then they're going to kill us," Skylar said. "Probably you as well. It's best to just give them what they want in this situation."

"No! She can't!" Luffy said. "She's afraid of the wind!"

"Rubbish," Skylar said.

"He speaks the truth," Mitch said. "She's a baby when it comes to using the wind."

"Just stop talking and take us there already," Jaq said.

"I can't," Eri whispered. She clutched her head in both hands. "I don't know how."

"You know how," Boss said. "You just don't remember."

"I don't know how," Eri said again. "I can't do this. I can't. Just let us go."

"That's not going to happen," Boss said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You have three hours. You better start figuring things out."

"Luffy," Eri said.

"It's all right, Eri," Luffy said. "My friends are going to find us missing. They'll come after us."

"Are you kidding?" Skylar said. "We're long gone from them."

"You don't know my friends," Luffy said. "Trust me. They'll find us." He glared at the men who took them. And when they do you four are in for a serious beating."

Mitch laughed. "Sure thing, Straw Hat. They have no idea where we are or where to even look for us. And as long as we keep going they'll never catch up to us."

Luffy smirked. "You don't know Neo."

"We know about her," Jaq said. "Like Mitch just said, they have no idea which way we went. They'll never catch us."

"Just leave them alone," Boss said.

"But we have to guard them," Jaq said.

"No, you don't," Boss said. "They can't escape from us. She needs the keys to unlock their cuffs. And I have them right here in my pocket. There's no way she's skilled enough to steal them."

"Fine," Mitch and Jaq said. They walked away from their hostages and entered into the ship.

"I suggest you hurry up and make up your mind," Boss said then followed after his men.

Eri looked at Pratt. The man looked guilty, extremely guilt. Then he too disappeared inside the ship. She turned back to Luffy and Skylar. "What do I do?"

"Just give them what they want," Skylar said. "They will hurt us if you don't."

"They'll hurt us if she does," Luffy said. "Just wait for my friends. I know they're coming."

"But how, Luffy?" Eri asked. "We're hours away from them. I know Neo has her wind crystals, but she can't even find us."

"Yes, she can," Luffy said.

Skylar scoffed. "And how do you know that?"  
"Because I know Neo," Luffy said. "She won't let them get away with this."

"You're an idiot," Skylar said. "Don't listen to him, Eri. He doesn't know you at all."

Eri sighed. She had no idea what she should do. Either way it looked like they were going to get hurt. So she had to make a decision. Just take them to Anemone or allow them to hurt Luffy and Skylar. She closed her eyes. She couldn't do it. She couldn't let Luffy and Skylar get hurt. If they did make it to Anemone they _might_ be allowed to go free. If not then it's possible that they could escape. They had a greater change of escaping on an island than the sea, didn't they?

All too soon the sun was coming up over the horizon. It was time to tell them her decision. She gulped when she head the men come back out onto the deck. Boss said, "Well?"

"I'll do it," Eri said.

"Eri," Luffy said.

"I'll take you to Anemone," Eri said.

"Good girl," Boss said.

Eri gritted her teeth. She could feel Boss's smug smile behind her. "I just need a little time to try and figure out what to do to get there."

"Fine," Boss said. "But this had better not be a trick to stall us."

"It's not," Eri said.

"Then get to work," Boss said then walked away.

Eri sighed. How was she supposed to figure this out? She closed her eyes. _Please, help me. I need to come to Anemone. I need to save my friends here. I can't let Luffy get hurt. He means so much to me. Please, tell me what I'm supposed to do._

 _"You are not ready to come here yet."_

 _"I know I'm not. But I don't have a choice. I can't let them hurt Luffy. He means so much to me. He kept me alive. He kept me going when no one else would. I…I love him."_

 _"Very well. I will assist you the best I can. Now, focus on the wind in your talismans. Once you have a hold on it say, 'Silver Wind of Anemone. Rise us to the sky. Show us the way to your lands.' You can bring whoever you wish with you."_

 _"Thank you. Thank you so much."_

Eri laced her fingers together. Keeping her eyes closed, she felt out for the winds. She felt them slowly coming out of her earrings. A rush of calmness flowed over her. The person she was talking to some how appeared around her. Whispering, she said, "Silver Wind of Anemone. Rise us to the sky. Show us the way to your lands."

A gust of wind blew. It was followed by another five seconds later. Then another one four seconds, then three, two, and one until a steady flow of wind was pushing them along. Eri peaked through her eye. She gasped when she was the wind was silver. It was shimmering. Though she didn't know if it was the wind itself or if it was the sun reflecting off of it.

The wind wrapped around the ship, slowly lifting it off the water.

The men came back outside.

"Wow!" Mitch gasped.

"It's really happening!" Jaq said. "We're going to Anemone!"

Pratt remained silent as he looked over at their prisoners.

Boss just smiled.

Eri turned her head away from them. Whispering as low as she could, she said, "Please, bring Luffy's friends with us. We need their help."

…

"Oh, my head," Usopp said as he started to wake up from the gas.

"I think I drank to much," Zoro said, rubbing his head. "Hold on. I didn't drink anything last night."

"Hey, where's Luffy?" Sanji asked.

"What time is it?" Franky asked.

The door opened. The men winced and groaned at the morning sun shining into their room.

"About time you woke up," Shachi said. "Hurry up. Come out onto the deck. Straw Hat, Eri, and Skylar have been taken."

"What?!" The men got up and scrambled out of the room where they were filled in on what happened.

"But why didn't they gas your room?" Chopper looked at the girls.

"Maybe because Eri was in there?" Nami suggested.

"But she could have screamed for your help," Brook said.

"That doesn't matter now," Law said. "All that matters is we head towards the direction they went."

The Straw Hats looked over at the two Heart Pirates as they settled down onto their ship. Neo said, "I'm going to fly us as fast as we can, but-"

"What's happening?!" Usopp shouted, cutting the woman off.

"The ships are being lifted into the air!" Brook said. The pirates looked around to see silver wind wrapping around their ships.

"But how is that possible?!" Chopper asked. "Neo! Do something! Please!"

"No," Neo said, gaining a lot of looks that told her she was crazy. "I think its Eri."

"What do you mean?" Law asked.

"This wind moves like it has a purpose," Neo said. "I believe it's taking us somewhere."

"But where?" Franky asked.

"Anemone," Robin said.

"So you think those guys got Eri to say whatever it is she needed to say to get them to that island?" Sanji asked.

"That doesn't make sense," Zoro said. "She's afraid of the wind."

"Unless something else is scaring her more," Robin said.

"What would that be?" Brook asked.

"Luffy and Skylar," Neo said. "They would be the perfect hostages for them to use against her. She cares about them both."

"Then we should prepare ourselves to arrive on Anemone," Law said.


	8. Anemone

Anemone

The ship shook, throwing the men off balance.

"Hey! Careful!" Mitch hissed. He rubbed his sore elbow and stood back up. "You better not be doing that on purpose!"

Eri clenched her eyes tighter. Her body wracked with a shiver as her mind filled with the nightmare she had had before in the mansion. The people in her nightmare were shouting at her again to get control of her wind. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed around her. Her breathing became fast. Pain shot through her body, her back. She screamed.

"Stop it!" Luffy shouted. "She's going to pass out if she keeps breathing like that! Let her stop! She can't do this!"

"Maybe he's right," Pratt said, still on the deck floor.

"No!" Boss hissed. "I will not let her stop! We are going to Anemone!"

"Then let me help her!" Luffy cried just before Eri fell out of her wheelchair. The ship dropped several feet from the air. The men did their best to hold on to the ship so they didn't fly off. "You have to let me help her! I can calm her down!"

The ship stopped falling but it wobbled, floating side to side, it slammed into a cliff. The rock and boards on the ship broke and crumbled to the ground. The ship took another dip.

"Maybe he's right," Jaq said. "She's not in control. We're all going to die if she keeps this up."

"Let me help her! I can calm her down!" Luffy said.

"What?! You're not going to touch my sister!" Skylar snapped. "Let me loose! I'll calm her down!"

"Luffy!" Eri shouted. "Help me! It hurts!"

"I can help her! I kept her calm when she was using her powers on my ship!" Luffy said before another jerk of the ship slammed him back against the mast.

"Boss! Let him!" Pratt said. "We're going to die if she isn't calmed down!"

"Fine!" Boss growled. He tossed the keys to Pratt. "But only unhook him from the mast! Leave the sea prism stone chains on him!"

"Right!" Pratt grabbed the key and pulled himself towards the mast. Pulling himself up to the chains, he unlocked the chain binding Luffy to the mast then slipped the keys into his pocket.

Luffy allowed his body to slide over to Eri when the ship tipped. Pulling his body along as best he could, he finally reached her. But with no energy to actually sit up and pull her into his arms, he had to hook his arms over her head and pulled her to him. "Eri, it's okay. I'm right here. You're safe."

"L-Luffy…I can't…I can't control it," Eri said.

"Yes, you can," Luffy said.

"It hurts," Eri said, tucking farther into his hold. "It's hurts, Luffy. It's going to hurt me again."

"Again?" Luffy blinked. "Eri, it's just the wind. You are in control of it. It's not going to hurt you."

"Y-yes it is!" Eri wailed. "I don't want to get hurt again!"

"You're not going to get hurt! Eri! Look at me!" Luffy said.

Sniffling, Eri looked up at him to see his eyes filled with determination, trust, and devotion to her.

"I'm right here! I'm here to protect you! You're not going to get hurt!" Luffy said. "I will protect you! Trust me!"

Eri stared into his eyes. Slowly, she nodded. She believed him and trusted him. She said, "Stay with me."

"I will." Luffy nodded. "Just focus."

"Okay." Eri closed her eyes. Focusing her mind like Neo had told her, she did her best to hammer down her fears of the wind. Luffy's body warmth spread over to her body. It soothed her. The cursed of the men and the howling of the wind vanished from her ears.

 _"I'm here," a soft, sweet, female voice said._

 _"Who are you?" Eri asked._

 _"A friend. I'm here to help you. Just stay focused on Luffy. The wind is not going to hurt you again," she said._

 _"How do you know about that?" Eri asked._

 _"I've been with you for a long time," she said._

 _"You have?"_

 _"I have. And I'm waiting for finally meet you face to face. Just keep focus. The wind and you are one. It can't hurt you no longer. Trust me," she said._

 _"All right," Eri said. "I'll try."_

Eri exhaled. Inside of her head she repeated to herself that she was fine. Luffy was here with her, and so was that voice, so nothing was going to happen to her. She pictured what she wanted the wind to do. Slowly, the wind settled down and the ship straightened out. Upon feeling the ship become still, she opened her eyes and looked at Luffy.

"I knew you could do it," Luffy said.

"That's one of us," Eri said. Then suddenly, she started laughing. "I'm sorry. I have no idea why I'm laughing. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Luffy said.

Eri locked eyes with his. She then noticed his arms were still around her. Swallowing, she said, "You…you can let me go now."

A beat passed before Luffy slipped his arms back over her head. She sat up and looked around. The men had pulled themselves back up to their feet while Skylar was still attached to the mast. She said, "Are you okay, Skylar?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Skylar said. He glared at Luffy. "Don't ever touch my sister like that again."

"I'll touch her how I pleased!" Luffy said.

"What?!" Skylar snapped.

Eri felt her face burn. It appeared that Luffy didn't realize what he had said or the implications behind it.

"This is amazing!" Mitch said.

"How is this possible?!" Jaq asked. "I know this was…I just didn't…how could…"

"It's happening," Boss said, a grin on his face. "I'm finally going to go to Anemone."

"How long will it take us to get there?" Pratt asked. He walked over to the other men, passing Luffy and Eri on the way.

Eri shifted closer to Luffy. Her eyes, her glare, was locked onto Pratt as he passed by. She about grinned when his foot caught on her overturned wheelchair but it vanished when the keys fell out of his pocket and hit the floor. Without thinking, she shot out her hand and grabbed the keys, tucking them into her bra as quickly as she could. She waited to get hit or something for taking the keys, but nothing happened. Timidly, she looked back over at the men. They didn't seem to notice the keys had been dropped on the deck as they stared up at the silver wind circling around the ship.

"Clumsy," Jaq said with a snicker.

"It shouldn't take very long at all," Boss said. "Probably just a few minute."

"Great," Pratt said, straightening his shirt. "I can't wait for this to be over with."

"He's not the only one," Eri mumbled. She turned back to Luffy, her eyes dropping the chains around his wrist. "Do they hurt?"

"No. They only drain my energy," Luffy said.

Eri eyed his exhausted expression and wondered if she should attempt to take off the sea prism stones.

Luffy looked around. "I think it'll be a bit harder for Neo to find us if we're going to be flying around. Unless some birds see us or something."

"Birds?" Eri asked.

"Yeah. She can talk to animals," Luffy said. "Ack! I shouldn't have said that!"

"What are you yapping about over there?" Mitch asked as he turned to them.

"Nothing!" Luffy said.

Mitch gave them a skeptical look before turning away.

"I see," Eri said. "That's why you are so confident in them finding us."

"And they still will," Luffy said. "Trust me."

"I do." Eri nodded. "But there's something you should know about."

"Hm?" Luffy blinked.

"I was talking to someone," Eri whispered. "I don't know who, but I've heard this voice before. It helped me keep control over the winds as did you. But I also asked it to help me bring your friends to Anemone. I don't know if it's going to work or not."

"That's okay," Luffy said. "I'm sure Neo will still find us. We need to escape from here though."

"I have the keys," Eri said.

"What?!"

"Shh!" Eri placed her finger over Luffy's lips. "Pratt dropped them. He didn't notice. I can free you. But I don't know if I can fly us out of here. The wind is still coming out of my earrings."

"We'll wait until we're on the island," Luffy said.

"Is that a good idea?" Eri asked.

"I don't know," Luffy said. "But we're probably real high up right now. We'll have a better chance of a fight on an island than we will in the air. I have a technique that will allow me to fight in the air, but I'll be completely drained if I use it. I don't want to unless I have no other choice."

"Then we'll wait until we arrive on Anemone. Just before we land, I'll unlock you. We'll free Skylar and take off," Eri said. "I might be able to fly us away from them. At least a little bit."

"Okay." Luffy nodded. "Then we'll fight them."

"We?" Eri said. "I can't fight."

"Of course you can," Luffy said. "You have the wind by your side."

"Luffy, I-"

"There it is!" Boss shouted out.

Everyone eyes turned towards the massive island floating beside them.

"What the heck?!" Luffy shouted. "It's huge!"

Eri stared in shock at the massive island. Silver wild was all around them and it. But it didn't cover the large trees and mountains that clearly decorated the island. The ship lifted up higher. Then they were right beside the island. A collective gasp escaped them all. The trees were glittering gold and silver. The mountains sparkled with jewels. The rivers and streams also sparkled silver as they weaved their way through the magnificent forest.

"I don't believe it!" Mitch shouted as he ran to the edge of the ship.

"This is island made of jewels?" Jaq asked. "Boss! Why didn't you tell us about this?!"

"I wasn't sure of it myself," Boss said, joining them and Pratt at the edge of this ship.

"Eri, the cuffs," Luffy whispered.

"Right." Eri jumped when Luffy called her name. She pulled her eyes away from the island and pulled the keys out of her bra. As quietly as she could, she worked the keys into the hole until she found the right one. Luffy then flipped her wheelchair back on its wheels, put her in it, then ran over to her brother with the keys in his hand.

"What are you doing, Straw Hat?!" Skylar hissed. "You're going to get us killed!"

"We're escaping," Luffy said, unlocking the cuffs that bound Skylar. The chains clanked to the deck.

"Hey! They're escaping!" Jaq shouted.

Mitch lunged for Eri. He grabbed her wheelchair.

"No! Let go!" Eri shouted. Wind snapped out from her earrings, knocking him away from her.

"You little brat!" Jaq said as he lunged for her.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy shout out his fist and smashed Jaq in the face. He then turned towards the others, ready to take them all down.

"Fire Twister!" Boss pulled a small baton with a ruby at the end of it out of his coat. He pointed the ruby at Luffy and fire spun out of it and into a twister.

"Ah!" Luffy skidded to a stop before running into the fire. He backpedaled from it. "Hot! Hothothothothothot!"

"Luffy!" Eri said. She tried to use her winds to left them off the ship's deck or blow the fire away, but nothing happened. Pain shot through her back. She screamed, grabbed her head, and the wind died.

"I've got you!" Luffy shouted. He ran over to her. Picking her up, he ran towards the railing and jumped off the ship.

"Wait! Skylar!" Eri watched as her brother ran towards the edge of the ship only to get tackled by Pratt. "No!"

"I'm sorry, Eri," Luffy said. "I'll get him back for you. I promise! First I need to get you out of here and find my friends." He shot his hand out to the nearest tree and pulled them onto the island.

Eri watched helplessly as the ship landed on the island. It disappeared as they fell into the forest.

…

"We're going to die!" Usopp and Chopper shouted as the ships rocked and tipped wildly.

"Eri doesn't have enough control over the winds," Neo said.

"Can't you do something about this?!" Nami asked, cringing to Sanji who was stiff as a board with blood running down his face as the woman held onto him.

"Stupid cook!" Zoro shouted, burying a sword into the deck to help steady himself. "Stop doing that!"

"I'm trying to steady the ships, but it's hard," Neo said. "I can't stop the wind or we won't get to Anemone."

"Just do your best," Law said, his arm around her waist despite the face she was floating them a few feet above the deck of the Sunny.

Neo closed her eyes. She pushed the images of her family and friends rolling about their ships away and focused as much as she could on steadying their vessels. A few minutes later, she felt Eri's wind settling down. She opened her eyes to see the ships had leveled out and the silver wind had calmed to a steady pace. She lowered herself and Law down to the deck.

"Neo!" Penguin called from the sub's deck.

"Penguin, how are you all over there?" Neo asked.

"We're fine," Penguin said. "How are you doing?!"

"We're all fine over here too, Penguin," Neo said.

"Penguin, have the crew check out the sub to make sure nothing was damaged," Law said.

"Aye, Captain," Penguin said before disappearing into the sub.

"That was some wild ride," Franky said.

"Yeah, Luffy would have loved it," Chopper said, pealing himself out of Usopp's grip.

"I seriously thought we were going to die," Usopp said, he dropped to his knees.

"What do you think happened?" Brook asked.

"Eri must have gotten control," Neo said.

"I hope they're all okay," Robin said.

"I'm sure they are," Nami said, releasing Sanji who dropped to the deck with blood still running out of his nose.

"That was amazing," Sanji said.

"So how long do you think it'll be before we arrive there?" Zoro asked, putting up his sword.

"Well, I can sense an island," Neo said. "I think it's about five or six minutes away."

"We should be prepared for a fight," Robin said. "We have no idea if anyone is inhabiting this island."

"I hope they're friendly if there is someone living there," Usopp said.

"We'll know soon enough," Zoro said. He nodded towards the sky. "Look at that."

"What?!" Usopp and Chopper screamed when a massive island appeared floating in the sky.

"How is that possible?!" Nami asked. "How could something that big go unnoticed or be hidden in the wind?! It's just not possible!"

"Amazing," Robin said.

"That's super huge!" Franky said.

"We're going there?" Sanji pulled out his cigarette from his mouth after finally coming back to his senses. "What are the chances we'll land in the same place as Luffy and the others?"

"Good question," Robin said.

"Wow! This place is amazing!" Nami exclaimed once the top of the island was in view. The sparkling jewels of the island were the first thing that caught her eye. "So many jewels! This that's real gold down there?!"

"It is amazing," Robin said with a nod. "I wonder what their history is like."

"Huh?" Neo looked around the sparkling forest carefully.

"What is it, Neo?" Law asked.

"I can sense some kind of creatures here, but they're not animals," Neo said. "I'm not sure what they are."

"Are they friendly?" Usopp asked, his weapon was out and ready to fire if necessary. "Tell me they're friendly!"

"I'm not sure," Neo said. "I don't think they know we're here. Or they didn't. One's coming our way."

"What?!" Usopp and Chopper asked. They ran around before grabbing onto each other. "What is it?!"

Law grabbed the handle of his sword, ready to protect his love if it was necessary.

Tiny little sparkles flew around the ship as it landed. They went right to Neo and circled around her before stopping. They were about four inches tall with pointy ears, and colorful skin that might have actually been fuzz instead. One of them giggled then said, "You are nature."

"I am," Neo said.

"You're amazing," it said.

"What are they?" Nami asked as a couple lifted up her hair.

The rest of the creatures gathered around the pirates, inspecting them curiously with child like innocence.

"Goodness," Brook said when one flew in one eye socket and out the other.

One popped up underneath Chopper hat, a couple dove into Usopp's bag, several perched on Franky's large body, Zoro swatted one away from him, Sanji held out his hand for one to sit on, Robin smiled when some landed on her hands and shoulders, and Law growled when one flicked his earrings.

"What are you?" Neo asked.

"We're sprites. My name is Lit," Lit said. "We take care of Anemone. But who are you all? We hardly ever have humans come here. And you're not human."

"I'm not. I'm an Elemental," Neo said. "We were brought here by a friend who has Wind Talismans."

"The Wind Wielder is here?!" Lit said. The others chattered in excitement.

"That must be the other ship that landed," another one said.

"But the Wind Wielder wasn't on the ship," one said. "Only five men were."

"Only five?" Sanji asked.

"Luffy must have escaped with Eri then," Nami said.

"We need to find them," Usopp said, plucking the sprites out of his bag.

"If one of them is the Wind Wielder then Celestial will find them," Lit said.

"Celestial?" Nami asked. "Who's that?"

"The ruler of our people," Lit said. "You should come with us. She'll want to met you." She smiled at Neo. "Especially you."

"What should we do?" Neo asked. "I can sense Luffy but he's not close at all."

"We might as well follow them," Law said. "If their ruler is going after Straw Hat and Eri then we'll meet up with them."

"Then let's go," Nami said.

"We should leave some of the crew here to watch the ships," Neo said.

Law nodded in agreement.

Neo wrapped her winds around herself and Law and flew back to the sub. They gathered Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi before regrouping with the Straw Hats. They then set off through the island to look for their friends.

…

"Hold on, Eri!" Luffy said as the ground became closer and closer to them. He angled his body where Eri would be on top of him. "Gum Gum Balloon!"

Eri tightened her hold around his neck. She gasped when his body started to expand as he sucked air into himself. Tree branches snapped when they hit them, leaves shook and broke as they rushed passed them. Luffy's body bounced on the ground a couple times before coming to a stop. She felt his body flatten down until he was back to normal.

"You okay?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah." Eri nodded.

"Let's go then." Luffy pushed up to his feet and took off running through the thick forest. He ran for a few minutes before coming upon a cave that had drapes of leaves covering half the opening. He rushed over to it. Putting Eri inside, he rushed back and pulled more of the vines down to hide the opening more. Once it was fixed to his liking, he walked back to his friend and sat down beside her. "That should do for now."

"Luffy," Eri said, her cheeks stained with tears that showed no signs of stopping.

"Eri?" Luffy asked.

"I'm so sorry," Eri said. "This is all my fault. It's all my fault."

"Nothing is your fault," Luffy said.

"Yes, it is," Eri said. "Those men were after me. And I got you and my brother involved in this. Now they have him. They're going to kill him."

"Eri." Luffy squatted down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault. Nothing that happened here is your fault. And I promise I'm going to get your brother back."

"How? Boss has more talismans," Eri said. "He could have seriously hurt you back there." She hiccupped. "It's my fault."

"Eri," Luffy said. "Look at me."

Eri shook her head.

"Eri!" Luffy said so loud it made her jump. She looked at him. Exhaling, he reached up and brushed her tears away. "I'm sorry I couldn't help your brother back there. I promise you that I will get him back. And I will protect you."

"Luffy." More tears streamed down her cheeks. "There's something I want to tell you. But I'm afraid that you won't listen to me."

"Why wouldn't I listen?" Luffy asked.

"Because no one ever does," Eri said.

"Well, I'm listening now," Luffy said, kicking his feet out in front of him. "And you can tell me anything you want."

Eri stared down at the dark floor of the cave. Distant and soft bird chirps filtered into the silence between them. She really wanted to tell Luffy how she was really feeling. He wanted to tell him that she didn't want to go back home. She wanted to tell him that she was so lonely and felt like a prisoner. "Luffy…I…"

"What is it?"

"I don't…" Eri gritted her teeth. Years of keeping all of her feelings inside finally broke to the surface. She had gotten out of her prison and she didn't want to go back. "I don't want to go home!"

"What?" Luffy asked.

"I hate it there! I hate living in that house! I'm tired of being treated like a glass doll! My parents, my brother, our staff, they all treat me like I'm some kind of breakable doll! I hate it! I don't want that anymore!" Eri wiped her tears away but only more fell. Grabbing the front of his vest, she pleaded with him. "I don't want to go back there! Please, Luffy! Don't let them take me back! I want to be free!"

Luffy watched her for a moment before pulling her into his arms. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner? Of course I won't let them take you back. You're going to stay with me."

"Luffy?" Eri turned her head towards him but all she saw was his black hair. He then pulled back and cupped her face in his hands. Heat rushed to her face at the tender look he was giving her. "Luffy?"

"Eri, I don't want you to ever keep your feelings inside ever again," Luffy said. "I care a lot about you. I'm your friend. You have to tell me from now on when you're upset about something, captain's orders."

"Captain?" Eri blinked in confusion. "But I'm not-"

Luffy placed his finger over her lips and smiled. "You _are_ part of my crew. You're my friend. And I always protect my friends."

"But how can you keep me away from my parents?" Eri asked. "They know the Navy. They won't stop looking for me."

"They're already looking for me," Luffy said. "I'm a wanted pirate after all. Just trust me and my friends."

"Your friends…they don't want me on your ship," Eri said.

"Of course they do! You heard them before!" Luffy said.

"Zoro doesn't," Eri said.

"He cares about you in his own way," Luffy said.

"How? None of them even know me," Eri said.

"They know enough," Luffy said. "Besides, I didn't know them all that well before they became my crew."

"I guess so." Eri looked down at the ground.

"So, will you join my crew?" Luffy asked.

Eri continued to stare down at the ground. Slowly, she looked up and smiled. "I will."

"Good." Luffy took off his hat and placed it on her head.

"So what do we do now?" Eri asked, adjusting the hat better. "What do you think they'll do to Skylar? Do you think they'll come after us? Or will they wait for us to come for them to get him back? They still have that talisman that can track me."

"I have no idea," Luffy said.

"Maybe we should just wait here for a while," Eri said.

"Not a strong point of mine," Luffy said.

"So what do you suggest," Eri said.

"You use your winds to fly us," Luffy said.

Eri flinched. Her body turned cold again. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Hey, don't do that." Luffy wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his side. "It's all right. You don't have to fly if you don't want to."

"Okay," Eri breathed. "So what do we do, Captain?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" Luffy asked.

"You're asking me?" Eri gave him a skeptical look. No one back home ever cared about what she wanted to do.

"Of course," Luffy said. "Why wouldn't I?"  
"Sorry. I guess I'm just not use to…"

"Not use to what?" Luffy asked.

"Nothing," Eri said, adverting her eyes from him.

"Eri," Luffy said. "Tell me."

Eri took a deep breath. She could feel the dam she had built up started to break. She had no idea how Luffy was able to do that to her. With a sharp exhale, she spilled out everything that she had been through at home. Once it was all out in the open, she felt a lot better.

"I never knew," Luffy said. "Why didn't you tell me in your letters?"

"What could you have done?" Eri asked.

"I could have come saved you long before now," Luffy said.

"Maybe," Eri said. "That would have been nice."

"Well, you're free now," Luffy said. "And it's going to stay that way."

"I hope so," Eri said. "So what now?"

"Maybe we should go looking around," Luffy said.

"Do I have to use my winds?" Eri asked.

"No, I'll carry you," Luffy said.

"I don't know. I guess it's better than just sitting here," Eri said. "We've already been here for almost an hour and they haven't came this way."

"So, let's go," Luffy said.

"All right." Eri nodded.

Luffy nodded. He then moved in front of her and pulled her onto his back and stood up. "Let me know if you get uncomfortable."

"Okay," Eri said.

"Then let's go," Luffy said.

"Which way are we going?" Eri asked. "It might be best to go back to the ship. Your friends' ships might have landed there too. Or do you think they'll still be there?"

"I have no idea," Luffy said as he left the cave. "Guess we'll see when we get there."

"I guess so," Eri said. They headed off into the forest. She ran her eyes over the sparkling vines, bark, and leaves, wondering if the pirates were going to take any of the stuff they saw. She wondered if it was even valuable at all. Surely it was. Right? She didn't know. Since she had never been anywhere she really didn't know how what all would be valuable or not. Her eyes then drifted to all the animals that were around. They seemed the same as the animals on her own island, as well as some species she's never seen before. Soon the ruffling of a possible larger animal made them stopped. Her arms tightened on Luffy. Beneath her, she felt his body tense. Then suddenly, her brother popped through the leaves. "Skylar?! But how?!"

"Eri," Skylar said with a smile. He rushed over to them. "I was able to escape when they came onto the island. I've been so worried about you."

"It's so great that you go away," Luffy said.

"Shut up, Straw Hat," Skylar snapped. "I am grateful that you took care of my sister, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't trust you."

"Where are Boss and the others?" Eri asked.

"I don't know," Skylar said. "They head off into the forest mumbling about finding treasure."

"Treasure? There's treasure on this island?" Luffy asked.

"I'm not really sure," Skylar said. "All I know is they went looking for some."

"We should get going ourselves then," Eri said.

"My friends will be looking for us," Luffy said.

"How?" Skylar asked. "They weren't with us."

"I think I was able to bring them here with us," Eri said.

"Okay…well, if they're here then they'll head for the building," Skylar said.

"What building?" Eri asked.

"Probably a temple. Whatever it is it's in that direction," Skylar said, pointing to his right.

"How do you know that?" Eri asked.

"I saw it when I escaped from them," Skylar said. "I took a long way around then doubled back to try and find you two."

"Oh," Eri said. "Maybe we should go back to the ship? If I did manage to get Luffy's friends here then their ships might have landed there as well."

"Those men will return there," Skylar said. "Let's just go to the temple. Once they get their treasure from there they won't have any need to go back to it. We can find a room to hide in it."

"Luffy?" Eri asked.

"Sounds like fun," Luffy said with a smile.

"I don't know," Eri said. "Skylar already said they are heading there. And it could take them a while to get the treasure out and back to the ship. They'll still need me to get them down from here. I don't think we should go there. We need to find the others."

"You're worrying to much, little sister. It'll be fine. We can hid in the woods and watch them. Once they're done we can go inside," Skylar said.

"But Boss still had the talisman that can locate me," Eri said.

"Not any more," Skylar said, holding up the talisman.

"You managed to get that away from them?" Eri blinked. "How?"

"It doesn't matter," Skylar said, putting it back in his pocket as he walked away. "They'll take forever to find us without this thing. By then we would have found a way to get off here."

Eri still wasn't sure as they headed off after her brother. The walk was a silent one. She felt that there was someone she was supposed to meet. That voice. She wondered where the person it belonged to was. Suddenly they broke out of the forest and was staring at a large, multilevel temple that had tons of jewels embedded in the walls.

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed. "It's huge! Let's go exploring!"

"It is amazing, but…" Eri's voice trailed off when she felt Luffy's body go slack. "Luffy? Are you all right?"

"No…strength draining," Luffy said as he sunk to the ground.

"Luffy?!" Eri looked down at his ankles. She gasped when she saw sea prism stone chains wrapped around his ankles. She reached for them but was jerked away.

"Sorry, kid," Mitch said, holding her wrists above her head. "You're not touching those."

"Let go! Wind-" Eri's heart dropped when the familiar coolness of the blocking talismans appeared on her wrists.

"You're not going to get away this time," Boss said as he and Jaq stepped out of the trees.

"Skylar! Run!" Eri said.

"No, I don't think I will," Skylar said. He walked over to Boss's side and smiled.

"What are you…" Eri stared at him in disbelief.

"You traitor!" Luffy said. "Why are you siding with them?!"

"What?" Eri looked at Luffy. "He's not." She looked back at Skylar. "You're not. You're just trapped, right?"

"I'm sorry, Eri," Skylar said. "But I'm on their side. I've always have been."

"What? That doesn't…why would you…you don't." Eri couldn't find her words.

"Hey, wasn't there one more of you?" Luffy asked.

"Oh, yeah," Boss said. "Pratt's no longer with us. Unfortunately, I had to let him go since he helped you escape."

"He did what?" Luffy asked.

"I know there was no way you two could actually get the keys from him," Boss said.

"He was always weak," Mitch said. "I'm glad he's gone."

"It can't be," Eri whispered.

"Oh, it is little sister," Skylar said.

"Why? Why would you let them hurt someone?" Eri asked. "I don't understand."

"Well, this wouldn't have happened if you had just used the winds like you should have before," Skylar said.

"What do you mean?" Eri asked.

"Will you shut up?" Boss hissed.

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm paying _you_!" Skylar snapped back.

"What?" Eri asked. Her mind buzzed. Images from her nightmare came flooding back. The voices of the people in it became clearer. Her eyes widened. "It was you…you did…you made me use my talismans even though I told you I wasn't ready to use them."

"Eri?" Luffy asked, worried.

"Because of you two…I got hurt," Eri said. "I can't dance anymore because I wasn't strong enough to control my talismans."

"So you remember," Skylar said. "Doesn't matter. It's too late now."

"But why?" Eri asked. "Why do all of this? I don't understand."

"For the power that is held within this island," Skylar said.

"What power?" Eri asked.

"Well, I guess you don't have all your memories back," Skylar said. "So I'll just tell you to get it over with. Do you remember the tapestries that use to hang in the house?"

"I don't know. I know there were some before," Eri said.

"Those tapestries were removed by our parents because they depicted this island," Skylar said.

"Are you saying that our parents knew about all of this?" Eri asked.

"Yes, they did," Skylar said. "They wanted to protect you from getting hurt because they thought you had no control over the talismans."

"I didn't. It's your fault this happened," Eri said.

"It's _your_ fault that you couldn't control it," Skylar snapped. "If only I had been born with the talismans instead of you."

"Born with?" Eri asked.

"Yes," Skylar said. "You are gifted since you were born with them. I was only given a talisman."

"You have one as well?" Eri asked.

"Stupid girl," Skylar said, pulling out a shell shaped talisman from his pocket. "How do you think I found you so quickly? There was no way I could catch up to you all. I have to use my Water Talisman to get to you."

"So you used Boss's finder talisman and then the water talisman to catch up," Eri said.

"Sort of," Skylar said. "I have my own finder talisman."

"Smart girl," Mitch said with a chuckle.

"If she was smart she would have figured this out a long time ago," Jaq said.

Eri wanted to glare at them, but she was too confused and shocked to do anything but stare at her brother.

"But _why_ are you doing this?!" Luffy demanded.

"I told you," Skylar said. "There's an incredible power on this island. The wind talismans were the only way to get up here and get it."

"But why take us like this?" Luffy said. "You have what you want. You're up here."

"Eri is the only one who can stop what's about to come next," Skylar said. He snapped his fingers and Boss clamped the mute talisman around her again. "I needed you two secured before I moved on with my plan. And now that you are, we'll be out of here. Bye bye." He waved and headed towards the temple.

"Have a nice life," Jaq said as the rest of them followed.

"Hey! You come back here and fight me! How dare you do this to my friend!" Luffy shouted. But it did no good. The men just continued into the temple and didn't look back. He wiggled on the ground. "You're going to pay for…for this!"

Eri closed her eyes. Tears were once again streaking down her cheeks. She felt so betrayed by a brother she thought loved her. She had no idea how much time had passed before she felt the wind whipping by her. She looked up to see silver wind coming out of the temple.

"What's happening?" Luffy asked.

Eri was wondering the same questioned. Suddenly something flew in front of her face. Blinking her tears away she saw a little person with white fuzz and pointy ears wearing a golden crown.

"Hello, Eri," she said. "I've waited so long to finally meet you." She tapped her finger on the mute talisman and it fell off. "That's much better."

"How did…" Eri's voice trailed off.

"It's a long story so I'll try to keep it short," she said. "My name is Celestial. I have been the force behind your letters going to each other."

"You did that?" Eri asked.

Celestial nodded. "Indeed. My people made these talismans and gifted some people with them like we did you. However some have been stolen as by your brother and those other men."

"What are they doing here?" Eri asked.

"There's a very rare talisman that allows the wielder to reshape the very world," Celestial said.

"Reshape the world?" Luffy asked.

"Let's remove those chains," Celestial said. She snapped her fingers and the chains flew off and into the forest.

"Yeah! Amazing!" Luffy cheered and sat up. "I feel great now!"

"That's good to hear," Celestial said. "You're going to have to help bring those men down."

"Why don't you do it if you created the talismans?" Luffy asked.

"Because they came from our magic," Celestial said. "Therefore we are connected to them. And whoever wields them can control us. An unfortunate side affect of creating them. If we had known, we never would have made them in the first place."

"That's cool," Luffy said.

"I should also tell you that your friends are on their way here," Celestial said.

"Really?!" Luffy smiled.

"I sent some of my own friends after them," Celestial said. "Hopefully they'll be here soon and can help you."

"They'll be here!" Luffy said. "I know they will!"

"But I can't do anything," Eri said.

"Of course you can," Celestial said. "I'll help you. You have no need to be afraid of the wind any longer. You only got hurt before because you didn't know how to use your gift. With me here to guide you, you'll no longer be afraid."

"But how?" Eri asked.

"Like this." Celestial held out her hands. Her body started to glow white before she merged with Eri's body. Her voice then appeared to come out of Eri's body with moving her mouth. "We are now one."

…

Neo screamed and dropped to her knees, grabbing her head. "Ah!"

"Neo!" Law dropped down beside her, her pain passing to him made him wince.

"What's wrong?" Penguin dropped down to Neo's other side while the rest came rushing back to them. "What's happening?"

"Nature," Neo said through her labored breaths. "Something's happening to it. It's shifted in unnatural ways. It's hurt and scared."

"I wonder if this has something to do with that strange silver wind passing above us," Robin said.

"What silver wind?" Usopp looked up then screamed. "What the heck?!"

"How did you even notice that was there?" Brook asked.

Robin didn't answer.

"The ground and sea must be a complete wreck right now," Franky said.

"Everyone is probably freaking out," Sanji said. "I wonder how this is going to affect the Elementals. You should contact Red Haired and tell him what's going on. Maybe they can help ease things and save people."

"That's a good idea," Law said. "I'll carry you while you do that."

"I'll try, but I can't really focus well right now," Neo said.

Law passed Bepo his sword then picked her up. "Just do your best."

Nodding, Neo rested her head on his shoulder, summoned her solar crystal to heal them both and then slipped into her dream world to contact her godfather. When she came out of it she relaxed with a sigh. "He's going to do what he can. He said it's a real mess down there."

"No kidding," Shachi said. "It must be if it's hurting you from way up here."

"We should hurry," Lit said. "Celestial should be with your friends by now."

"Then let's get moving," Nami said, picking up speed.

They pirates ran into the forest, following the sprites as closely as they could while they were being led through the forest.

"Where are we going?" Brook asked.

"The talisman that's being used to doing all of this is in a temple in the center of the island," Lit said.

"What's keeping them from taking the talisman and leaving?" Zoro asked.

"They have to use it inside of the temple," Lit said. "The power from the talisman is being released through tunnels inside of the temple. They lead to the underside and to the top of the island where the power flows and is released into the wind streams of the world. Once it's down to the main world the silver wind spreads out and starts rearranging things. It's going to cause so much devastation. Several people will undoubtedly be killed."

"Some already have," Neo said. "Godfather said there are earthquakes after earthquake erupting down there."

"Is he going to be all right?" Franky asked.

"Yes." Neo nodded. "He has some Elementals with him. They're keep his ships in the air while trying to do their best to calm down the chaos with their crystals."

"This is just insane!" Nami said.

"We better hurry up!" Sanji said. "Neo, can you fly us?"

"I don't think I have enough strength with how much I've been using my crystals," Neo said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Sanji said. "It's not your fault. You have to keep yourself and your baby safe. So focus on that. We'll get there soon enough."

"I just hope Eri and Luffy are all right," Neo said, looking up at the sky.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Lit said. "Celestial is going to help the Wind Wielder get control over her winds. All we have to do is get there soon."


	9. Reaching Freedom

Reaching Freedom

"I can sense Luffy," Neo said while their group continued on through the forest.

"Great," Usopp said, snapping a branch off that grabbed his pants. "I can't take much more of this."

"He's that way." Neo pointed towards the direction she sensed Luffy in. "About a half of a mile."

"Yes, we are getting close," Lit said.

"Room. Shambles." Law formed his Room and warped them right in front of the temple.

"Hey! You guys made it!" Luffy cheered.

"What happened to Eri?" Nami asked as she eyed the glow around her friend.

"I see the merger worked," Lit said as she flew up to Eri.

"Indeed it did," Eri, in a different voice, said.

"What the heck?!" Usopp shouted. "That's not Eri's voice!"

"I am Celestial," she said. "I have merged with your friend here to help soothe her fears of the wind."

"Interesting," Robin said.

"So what do we do now?" Chopper asked.

"Since you are all here, you need to get inside of the temple and stop these men from destroying your world," Celestial said.

"You should also know that Skylar, my brother, has betrayed us," Eri said.

"He did what?!" Sanji asked.

"It was him and Boss who hurt me," Eri said, placing her hand on her face. "I remembered. They were trying to force me to use my talismans when I was a kid. I lost control and hit a rock. It damaged my spine. I don't remember details, but that's the basics of it."

"How awful," Nami said. "You poor thing. You must be so upset right now."

"I am." Eri nodded. "But we don't have time for anymore tears. We have to stop them."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Shachi asked.

"What exactly do we have to do to beat them?" Chopper asked.

"Eri needs to get a hold of the talisman that's being use," Celestial said.

"So other than that, it's a normal fight," Franky said.

"Not exactly normal considering we have to go up against talismans and we have no idea how many they have or what they can do," Nami said.

"We should be very careful then," Robin said.

"I'll do what I can to help," Neo said. "But I might not be able to do much with how tired I am."

"You worry about yourself and our baby," Law said. "And stay right by my side."

Neo nodded.

"Then let's go," Luffy said. "Eri, are you ready? Eri?"

Eri sighed. "I'm as ready as I can possibly be. I just never thought I'd have to fight my own brother. I never thought I'd have to fight period."

"We all know it's going to be hard," Nami said. "But this has to be done."

"I know." Eri nodded. Using the wind, she lifted herself into the air. "Let's just get this over with."

"Don't worry, Eri," Luffy said with a smile. "I'm right her beside you and so is my crew. We'll all protect you."

"That's right!" Penguin said. "We've got your back!"

"Let's get this over with," Law said. "Our crew is going to wonder where we are before long."

Neo nodded.

"Then let's go," Luffy said as he turned and started to head for the temple.

"We must stay here," Lit said.

"Why?" Nami asked.

"If they have the talisman that can control us you'll be in worse danger," Lit said. "So it would be best for is to stay away. We wish you well."

"Good luck to you all," a sprite said

"Be careful, Celestial," another sprite added.

"Do not worry," Celestial said. "I will be just fine. You all take shelter and stay safe."

The sprites nodded and flew away from the area, disappearing into the woods.

"Let's go!" Luffy charged into the temple.

"Always so impatient," Sanji said as he and the other's followed.

The building was cool. The walls were decorated in symbols and words that none of them could understand as well as several jewels that had Nami very excited. Small orbs were floating along the halls, lighting things up for them with a soft yellowish glow. There were several doors in all of the halls giving this place the feeling of a maze.

"Wow. This place is a lot bigger than it looks," Usopp said, eyeing all the doors. "I hope we don't get lost in here."

"We will not," Celestial said. She flew in front of them all, right beside Luffy while guiding them through door after door. "I shall guide you. They will be in the center of the building. That is where the most sacred of treasure is hidden here."

"Treasure? There's more?" Nami asked, her eyes sparkling like diamonds.

"There is," Celestial replied. "But it's not a treasure that you would want."

"Why not?" Chopper asked.

"It is a talisman that is causing all the damage to you world," Celestial said.

"A magic like that should not be in anyone's hands no matter who they are," Neo said, rubbing her hands on her arms. "The world is hurting so much. Animals are so frightened and dying from the unpredictable shifts of the ground."

Law placed his hand on her back and rubbed gently to soothe her worries.

"Indeed," Celestial said. "We despise the day we made it."

"So why not just destroy it?" Zoro asked as they made their fifth turn threw another door.

"There is no way to do such," Celestial said. "After our magic takes shape in the form of a solid object there is no way to destroy it."

"Just great," Zoro said.

"That is why we formed the Wind Talismans," Celestial said. "They were to be the guardian of the Silver Talisman since they both are forms of the wind."

"Silver Talisman," Robin said. "Is that why the wind was silver?"

"Yes." Celestial nodded. "The wind is actually sprites who have the abilities to control the elements on small levels. Combining the power of the Silver Talisman, they can change the world as they are doing now. Many seek this power. We had to be careful but it wasn't enough."

"I'm sorry," Eri said.

"Do not be," Celestial said. "You were just a child. Greed and power just over took your brother."

"And I may never get him back," Eri said.

"Only if he wants to come back," Celestial said. "But only he can choose that. And usually those taken over by greed never come back. They are cursed with a sickness."

Eri sighed. She didn't want to admit it but she knew the sprite was correct. She could see it in Skylar's eyes. He was no longer the brother she once knew and loved. She clenched her hands. Saving him was going to be impossible. A warm brush from a familiar hand caused her to unfurl her fingers. She looked up at Luffy. His smile warm and comforting and confident. She smiled back and curled her fingers around his, ignoring the snickers behind them.

After turning into about six more doors, the pirates finally reached their destination. It was a square room with a golden pedestal in the middle. Floating above the pedestal was a single silver circle that had several wind streams coming out of it. Despite the wind streams floating around the room as they made their way through the glowing circles on the floor and the ceiling there was no real wind in the room. Everything was still. Surrounding the pedestal was Mitch and Jaq while Boss and Skylar was standing right behind it. Skylar had his hands on the sides of the talisman with his eyes closed.

"That's just creepy," Usopp said. "That thing has wind coming out of it yet nothing's happening in this room."

"That's magic for you," Shachi said.

"Well, you managed to get here after all," Boss said.

"Persistent considering you're useless," Mitch said looking right at Eri.

Eri's chest burned with anger. She wasn't useless. She was just trapped in a glass case before, held down by her parents and her wheelchair. Now she was free and she was going to remain that way. And she would prove it to them. The wind flowed from her earrings, lashing out at the men before her.

"Don't even think about it, _sister dear_ ," Skylar said. "You won't attack me."

Eri gritted her teeth. Was he right? Even after everything he done to her?

"She doesn't have to!" Luffy snapped. "I'm here to do it for her!"

"Then let's see what you all can do," Mitch said as he, Jaq, and Boss walked in front of the pedestal. The men held up talismans.

"Careful," Neo warned. "Those are talismans that can control the elements. One can control vines, another creates earthquakes, and one is lightning."

"Very good, _Princess_ ," Boss said. "You really can feel out nature. I would have loved to have seen you at work in Dressrosa."

"Shut up!" Luffy shouted. "Stop this! Right now! You can't destroy the world!"  
"I'm not destroying it," Skylar said, his eyes wild and wide. "I'm reshaping it. Attack!"

Luffy and Eri stood still as the rest of the pirates locked into a battle with Boss, Jaq, and Mitch. Their eyes remained on Skylar.

"Well," Skylar cocked his head to the side, "I guess I get to fight you."

"Skylar," Eri said. "Please, just stop this."

"I've been waiting for years for this," Skylar said. "Your pleas mean nothing to me."

Eri gritted her teeth. She couldn't believe this was her brother, her brother whom she thought loved her. "Did you care about me at all? Or did you only use me to gain power?"

"Of course I loved you," Skylar said.

Eri flinched at his words. He said loved not love. She exhaled.

"Eri, we must move now," Celestial said.

"I know." Eri nodded.

"Then let's go!" Luffy rushed forward. "Gum Gum Gatling!"

"Not going to work." Skylar pulled his talisman from his pocket and pointed it at Luffy. "Water Blast!"

A ball of what shot out and hit Luffy. The pirate went flying backwards, slamming into the wall. Skylar laughed. "You're going to have to do better than that, pirate!"

Eri shot out a wind stream at her brother, sending him flying back.

Skylar used his talisman to pad himself from hitting the wall behind him. He pushed himself forward and tackled his sister. "You won't win!"

"Eri!" Luffy jumped back towards them, slamming his fist into Skylar's face to knock him off Eri. "Don't you touch her!"

Eri righted herself and flew towards the Silver Talisman.

"No!" Skylar screams. Placing his talisman between their bodies, he fired it at Luffy.

Luffy screamed as his body flung up towards the ceiling. Flipping a couple times, his sandals tapped against the ceiling above him and shot himself back down to Skylar.

"Not this time!" Skylar propelled himself towards Eri, just missing Luffy's attack.

Eri gathered wind twisters around her fists. She swung at Skylar when he tried to reach for her neck. Twisting his arm, she turned him upside down. Her body flew backwards when Skylar shot a hard stream of water at her chest.

"Eri!" Luffy jumped behind her and grabbed her. "You okay?"

"Physically, yes," Eri said. She looked at her brother. "Mentally, not so much."

"Just hold on," Luffy said. "This'll be over soon."

"Indeed it will." Skylar jumped back to the Silver Talisman. Placing his hands near the circle, the island started to shift and quake.

…

"What's happening?!" Bepo shrieked when the entire island under them started to shake.

"He's trying to change the island!" Neo said.

"What?!" Usopp, Chopper, and Brook shouted.

"Luffy! Eri!" Neo shouted. "Get that talisman! I'll try to steady the island!"

"You can't!" Law said.

"I have too! We don't have any choice!" Neo said. "We'll lose this if the island turns against us!"

"All right," Law said. "Straw Hat! End this quickly!"

"Focus on yourself!" Mitch snapped out a vine.

Neo's earth crystals began to glow. She shot the vine back at him, wrapping him up tight. Lightning flew at them. She lifted up dirt to block it before using her wind crystals to knock the men down before turning her focus to the shaking island. The tremors started to slow down.

"Yeah!" Usopp cheered. "This is going to be the easiest fight we've ever been in! Neo's going to stop them in seconds!"

...

"You got it!" Luffy replied to Law.

"But how?" Eri asked.

"Combined your winds with Luffy," Celestial said. "Let him do the fighting. You just make him stronger."

"I'll…I don't know if I can," Eri said. "I might hurt him."

"You won't hurt me," Luffy said. "Now do it."

Eri stared into Luffy's eyes. After a few seconds, she nodded. She exhaled and said, "Please, winds, help me stop my brother and protect my friends."

Her winds picked up. Closing her eyes she could feel her winds wrapping around Luffy.

"Let's go!" Luffy and Eri said together. Luffy charged forward. "Wind Engulfed Gum Gum Gatling!"

"Water Stream!" Skylar cried.

The attacks clashed. Luffy and Eri pounded into the water stream. Bursts of water flew all over the room. All three increase their attacks. The island continued to rumble violently. Pieces of the ceiling and walls started to crumble around them.

"Harder, Eri!" Luffy cries.

Eri increased her winds. She pushes Luffy farther into the water until he lands a punch on Skylar's face.

Skylar's body goes flying backwards. He hits the wall, crumbling it, and falls to the ground. The talisman falls from his hand, rolling a few feet away.

Eri dropped to her knees. Hands on the floor she pants heavily. Her body tired, her mind fried. Tears stream down her face.

"Eri, it's all right," Celestial said. "It's over."

"Eri." Luffy rushed over to her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest.

"I'm okay," Eri said. "How are the others?"

Luffy glanced over to see they had the other three already apprehended. "They're fine."

The island shook.

"I have to stop the talisman," Eri said. Wrapping her winds back around her, she flew herself over to the talisman. Holding her hands around the ring, she closed her eyes. She felt herself merge with the silver wind. Inside of her mind, she could see it flying all over the planet and putting everything back to normal like it should be. Once that was done, she floated down to the ground, completely spent of her strength.

"Eri!" Luffy rushed over to her and lifted her up.

"I'm all right," Eri said. "Just a bit tired."

"Everything's going back to normal," Neo said. "Nature doesn't hurt anymore."

"That's good," Law said, kissing her temple.

Neo smiled up at her lover before he pecked her lips. Their attention turned back to Eri when the girl started to glow again.

The glow gathered in front of her then Celestial appeared. She smiled at Eri and said, "You have done well."

"I couldn't have done it without you," Eri said, leaning tiredly against Luffy.

"I am happy that I was here to help you," Celestial said. "And I am sorry about what happened to you when you were a child. If I could have stopped it I would have."

"Don't worry about that," Eri said. "I don't blame you for that. I blame my brother. He was supposed to help and protect me." She looked over at her fallen brother. Her heart broke from his betrayal. "I'm sorry he caused so much trouble."

"That was not your fault," Celestial said. "You are not to blame for his greed for power."

"Now that this is all over," Nami said, her eyes in the shape of dollars. "Can we talk about the treasure you have here?"

"Of course," Celestial said, "you are welcome to whatever you want."

"Really?!" Nami shrieked happily.

"Yes." Celestial nodded. "The jewels that grow here never run out. And we have no need for them. So help yourself."

"That's so great!" Nami said before running off while dragging Usopp and Chopper behind her.

"Hey! Let us go!" Usopp said.

"What are you doing?!" Chopper asked.

"I need you two to help carry my treasure!" Nami said, producing a couple of bags.

"Where did these come from?" Usopp asked when the navigator shoved a bag into his hands.

"I always carry some around with me just in case," Nami said.

"Where does she hide them on her?" Usopp eyed Nami's bikini and tight jeans outfit.

"I have a guess!" Sanji said, dancing around with hearts in his eyes.

"Shut up!" Nami punched the cook.

"She's so beautiful when she's angry," Sanji said, his head now with a steaming bump.

The crews laughed before they bond their prisoners with thick vines Neo made for them and hauled them out of the temple. Luffy picked Eri up and carried her so she could rest. As they went, Nami plucked jewels off the walls and dropped them into her bags that Usopp and Chopper was carrying.

"We can't thank you enough," Celestial said when they reached the pirates ship.

"It was nothing," Usopp said.

"You didn't do much!" Chopper screamed.

"I hope we can come see you again," Eri said. "I rather like it up here."

"I hope that you do come see us again," Celestial said. "You all are welcome here at any point in time."

"Great!" Luffy cheered.

"Do you think you can take us back to the sea?" Franky asked. "You have three ships to carry after all."

"Yes, I can," Eri said. "But after that I'll need to rest. It's been a long day and I'm very tired."

"I bet you are," Penguin said. "Neo's just as tired too."

Their eyes wondered over to Neo who was leaning against Law's arm half asleep.

"Then we shall bid you farewell for now," Celestial said. The spirits gathered around, waving at the pirates.

"Goodbye!"

"Thanks for all you've done!"

"See you later!"

Eri exhaled. Feeling out for her winds that would take them back where they belonged, she wrapped the silver wind around them. She lifted the Sunny and Polar Tang into the air before moving to the area where the other ship was. She was glad to have her wheelchair back. She pulled it over to her. Luffy sat her down in it but kept his hand on her shoulder. The trip back to the sea was smoother than the ride up to Anemone.

The pirates stood at the edges of their ships, looking down at the beautiful sparkling water as they descended upon it.

"What's that?" Bepo asked, pointing down to white and light brown specks on the sea.

"Huh?" Neo lifted off of Law's arm.

"What is it, Neo?" Law asked.

"I sense Fujitora," Neo said.

"The admiral?" Sanji asked.

"Why would he be all the way out here in the middle of no where?" Franky asked.

"An admiral?!" Brook shrieked. "Uh oh!

"Not now!" Chopper cried, tears running down his furry cheeks. "What do we do?! What do we do?!"

Eri winced. The ships plunged a few feet before she finally lowered them onto the water.

"Uh oh," Usopp said when he saw the mini fleet of six Navy ships surrounding them.

"Just great," Zoro said, holding his swords out.

"I don't want to fight again!" Usopp cried.

"Wait!" Eri said. "You don't have to fight!"

"What do you mean?" Nami asked.

"My uncle's over on that ship!" Eri pointed to the ship that was ahead of all the others.

"Which one is your uncle?" Chopper asked.

"The one wearing the purple cloak," Eri said.

"That's Fujitora," Neo said.

"Fujitora?!" the pirates screamed.

"You've got to be kidding!" Nami said.

"Fujitora is your uncle?!" Usopp shouted.

"I told you that before." Eri tilted her head.

"You called him Fuji!" Nami said.

"Yeah." Eri nodded. "It's short for Fujitora." She wrapped her winds around herself and flew over to the ship when it pulled up beside them. "Uncle Fuji!"

"Eri!" Fujitora held out his arms and embraced her. "It's good to see you. So to speak that is"

"It's good to see you as well," Eri said. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Fujitora said.

"Hey!" Luffy flung himself over to the Navy ship. "Eri! You shouldn't take off like that!"

"Straw Hat Luffy," Fujitora said. "It's been a while since I've seen you too as well."

"Yeah," Luffy said. "Since Dressrosa."

"I hope you have been taking care of my niece," Fujitora said.

"Of course I have," Luffy said. "Eri's my friend!"

"So how did you even find us?" Eri asked.

"By using this." Fujitora pulled out a leaf shape talisman identical to the one Boss had.

"You have one of those too?" Sanji asked. "How?"

"I know all about the talismans," Fujitora said. "When I found this one I decided to keep it in case something like this happened. And looks like I made the correct choice." He nodded towards the four men who took his niece. "I'll take them from here."

The pirates exchanged looks.

"It's okay," Luffy said. "Let them take them."

"Sure thing, Luffy," Franky said before the soldiers lowered a gangplank across the ships. The soldiers headed over to the pirate ship and lead the four captured men onto the Navy ship.

"Skylar," Fujitora said when the soldiers marched his nephew beside him. "I am so disappointed in you."

Skylar scoffed before the soldiers continued to direct him into the ship where he was put behind bars.

"What will happen to him?" Eri asked.

"He will be punished," Fujitora said. "As for you, it's time for you to come home."

"I'm not going home," Eri said.

"You have to," Fujitora said. "Your parents are very worried about you."

Eri gritted her teeth.

"Eri's not-" Luffy started.

"It's okay, Luffy," Eri said, cutting him off. "I'll handle this. Uncle, I know they are worried about me, but I am not going to return home."

"What do you mean?" Fujitora asked.

"I would love to go back and say goodbye to them but I don't feel like I can right now. So please tell them that I will be staying with Luffy and the Straw Hats. And I am safe," Eri said. "I can't go back there and live like I was. I was miserable there."

The pirates paused, waiting to see what would happen.

"I'm sorry, Eri," Fujitora said. "But I cannot allow you to take off and become a pirate."

"And I am sorry that I cannot allow you to stop me," Eri said.

The soldiers lowered their guns, aiming them at the pirates.

The pirates stood ready for a fight but stopped when the wind picked up. They looked at Neo, expecting it to be her that was manipulating the wind. But she didn't have any of her crystals out. Their eyes when to Eri. It was her. Eri was using her winds to force the Navy soldiers to point their guns into the air.

"Eri," Fujitora said.

"I'm sorry, Uncle," Eri said. "I love you. And I hope we meet again."

Eri pulled herself and Luffy back over to the Sunny. Filling the sails, the two ships began to sail away from the Navy.

"This is all good, but we're still surrounded by the Navy," Usopp said.

"Neo?" Eri asked.

"You got it." Neo nodded, already knowing what was being asked of her. Summoning a couple water crystals, she formed waves that rocked the sea and the Navy ships. Together the girls freed their ships and sailed quickly away from the Navy.

"They're getting away!" a soldier cried. "Get the cannons ready! Fire at will!"

"Don't worry," Fujitora said as the Navy escorted the men down to the brig.

"But Admiral," the soldier said. "We can't let them get away. We told Eri's parents that we would-"

"Don't worry about that," Fujitora said. His blind eyes stared off in the distance where the pirate ships were disappearing into the horizon.

"But they're going to get away!" the soldier cried.

"I guess they will," Fujitora said.

"You could have brought them down," the soldier said.

"Perhaps," Fujitora said.

"I get the feeling you wanted her to escape," the soldier said.

"Why, what do you mean by that?" Fujitora asked.

"You know exactly," the soldier grumbled. "What are you going to tell her parents?"

"Oh, I don't know," Fujitora said. "I guess I'll tell them the wind was never meant to be contained."

…

"I can't believe I actually did that!" Eri shrieked. "It was amazing!"

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered. "Eri's staying! Eri's staying! It's party time!"

Eri watched in excitement as the Straw Hats managed to throw together a party within seconds. Brook and the Heart Pirate musicians played a happy tune while Luffy, Chopper, Franky, Usopp, Shachi, Penguin, and several other Heart Pirates danced around the deck.

Suddenly a whirl of water landed on the ship, revealing a battered and bruised Pratt. The pirates went on guard. Luffy jumped in front of Eri. He said, "What are you doing here?!"

"Just coming to say goodbye to Eri," Pratt said.

"Huh?" Luffy cocked his head.

"I'm sorry I had to trick you before, but I wasn't really part of their crew," Pratt explained.

"Then who are you?" Sanji asked. "Why did you do all of this? Didn't they kill you?"

"A mutual friend of ours asked me to keep and eye on Boss when you got hurt years ago," Pratt explained. "And no, they only thought they killed me." He gestured to all the bruises on his body. "I almost did die. The sprites found me and helped heal me. They have some amazing medicine up there. Though I think it was actually magic."

"We have a mutual friend?" Zoro blinked.

"Who is it?" Sanji asked.

"I think I'll let him decide if he ever reveals that to you. He asked me to keep his name out of it just incase someone was listening in," Pratt said.

"This is just too much to take in. I knew there was something different about you from the others," Eri said.

"You have good instincts. I knew you were sensing that about me. I'm glad you're happy now." Pratt walked over to the side of the ship before jumping off of it. The pirates rushed over to see he had landed in a prepared boat of his own.

"You're leaving already?" Eri asked. "How did you even get here?"

"Yeah, I have to go now. And I used a water talisman that the sprites gave to me when we were on Anemone. It's actually the one Skylar had. He dropped it in the fight. Once I had it I hid on the ship until you took it back down to the sea. There I slipped into this smaller boat when you all were distracted with the pirates. See you later." Pratt smiled then headed off.

"Well, that was another odd turn of event," Eri said.

"Maybe," Robin said.

"Meh, let's just get back to the party," Luffy said, earning cheers from most of the pirates.

Eri sat back on her own for a while, just watching the crews party until her eyes landed on the green haired Straw Hat sitting off by himself with a drink in his hand. She rolled over to him. "Hi."

"Hey," Zoro replied.

Silence fell between them. Eri's hands tremble at what she wanted to talk about with this man. She knew she had a long way to go before she could be open with them. Still she had to try. "Look, uh, Zoro…I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Okay," Zoro said.

More silence. After a minute, Eri sighed. She couldn't bring herself to do it. "It's nothing. Never mind."

"If you're worried about me not wanting you here don't," Zoro said.

"Huh?" Eri looked at him.

"You can handle yourself now," Zoro said. "So I'm fine with you staying. I still think you have a long way to go before you can actually get into the fights that we do, but with us training you, you should be fine. But know that I'm not going to go easy on you. I want you to be as strong as you can be. If you don't become that, I'll personally drag you back to you parents."

"I see," Eri said. "I guess I'll just have to become good enough to satisfy you."

"I guess we'll see if that happened." Zoro closed his eyes and leaned back against the ship wall.

"I guess we will," Eri said, smiling.

…

Pratt continued to guide his ship into the designated meeting spot. Once he tied his ship up to the dock, he headed off into the island that was void of a city or town. Finding them was easy. All he had to do was follow the smell of booze. And like he knew, they were tucked into a grove of trees.

"It's good to see you again, Pratt," the captain of the group said.

"It has been a while," Pratt said. "And no offense, Captain, but I hope you never order me to go on another mission like that again. It about killed me to have to watch Eri go through all of that."

"I hope to never have to order you to do it again either," he said. "So how was Neo and Luffy?"  
"Same as always," Pratt said. "Sweet and very much pregnant. While Luffy remains unchanged as well."

He chuckled. "I wish I could see her more in person."

"I'm sure she wishes that exact same thing," Pratt said. "And they're wondering who you are. Why don't you tell them?"

"There's no need for that right now," he said. "I'll probably tell them one day."

"And until then?" Pratt asked.

"I'm just glad that Eri is finally free," he said with a smile. "After all the wind was never meant to be contained."

"As you say, Captain," Pratt said. "She's a lot happier now."

Shanks lifted his eyes to the sky and smiled. "I know she is. And I'm sure I'll she her again once Luffy becomes a great pirate."

…

Eri smile as she stared out at the moon rising over the horizon. Luffy was right behind her, his arm comfortable around her waist, holding her as close as he could. Both were sitting on the figurehead. "So this is what freedom feels like."

"It is." Luffy nodded.

"I can't wait to see where we go to next," Eri said.

"We?" Luffy asked.

"The crew," Eri said, looking at him. "Why? What did you think I meant?"

"Us," Luffy said. "As in me and you."

Heat rose up on her cheeks. She hadn't thought about that for a while. She did wonder where they were going next in their relationship. They knew each other well enough through their letters, but they still had a lot to know about each other being this close. Unable to hold eye contact, she looked away. "What…what do you mean by that?"

"Just this…" Luffy grabbed her chin and turned her back towards him and kissed her.

…

 **Author's Notes: Sorry this came out terrible. This is the second Luffy OC I did that totally flopped. *sigh* Thanks for reading anyway.**


End file.
